Talking Europe

Mar 07 2025 24 ep. 12 mins 109
Talking Europe Podcast artwork

Politicians, activists and researchers debate the issues facing the EU and a 'guest of the week' offers their insight in a long-format interview that gets to the heart of the matter. Saturday at 7:15pm.

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‘We, Europeans, are alone’, French economist Jacques Attali says

Mar 07 2025 12 mins  
For the best part of five decades, Jacques Attali has been whispering in the ears of French presidents. Initially an economist, he has written over 80 books and essays, sat in some of the most secret high-level meetings alongside former president François Mitterrand, and was the architect of Mikhail Gorbachev's 1991 presence at the G7 in the UK. Attali speaks to FRANCE 24 about th

Is the EU a world leader in promoting women's rights? Addressing the remaining inequalities

Mar 07 2025 12 mins  
International Women’s Day first took place in March 1911, with more than a million people marking the event in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. At that time, women were not allowed to vote, and in numerous countries higher education was not open to women, and divorce was not legal. A huge amount has changed since then, of course. The political leaders of two of the EU�

We should work with trade partners that don't 'blackmail' us: EU agriculture commissioner

Feb 28 2025 12 mins  
Farmers' protests peaked across Europe around this time last year. Rising production costs, unfair pricing, bureaucracy and foreign competition were among the drivers of the movement. The European Commission responded with a package of measures, and has now unveiled what it calls a "Vision for Agriculture and Food", the proposals coinciding with the annual agriculture show being he

EU unveils new plan for agriculture and food: Balancing growth and the environment

Feb 28 2025 12 mins  
In this episode, we consider the political hot potato that is farming, one year after farmers’ protests peaked across the EU. Brussels responded with a package of measures, but many in the agricultural sector say the crisis is far from over. We delve into the issue with two MEPs.

Exclusive: EU's Costa says 'no credible negotiations with results' without Ukraine, EU

Feb 21 2025 12 mins  
FRANCE 24 was granted exclusive access to EU Council President Antonio Costa, just before he left for Ukraine to mark the third anniversary of the war. He responds to US President Donald Trump's direct talks with the Russian government, insisting that negotiations will not be credible, nor achieve results, if they exclude Ukraine and the EU. Costa reiterates that peace in Ukraine c

Trump begins talks with Russia without Ukraine or EU: Europe scrambles for a plan

Feb 21 2025 11 mins  
Europe does not have a seat at the negotiating table: the message could not be clearer from Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg. This week, the US president opened discussions with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin – with no Ukrainians present – at a high-level meeting in Riyadh and then seemingly blamed Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky fo

EU should give Ukraine 'very strong security guarantees': Finland's former president Niinistö

Feb 14 2025 11 mins  
Europe is facing increasingly hybrid threats, and it lacks a shared culture of preparedness, according to our guest. Sauli Niinistö was the president of Finland from 2012 to 2024 and is now a special advisor to the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. In that capacity, he has authored a major report: "Safer together: A path towards a fully prepared Union". We dis

Europe and the artificial intelligence revolution: Key provisions of AI Act take effect

Feb 14 2025 12 mins  
The EU prides itself on being a global innovator in artificial intelligence regulation. Indeed, August 1, 2024 saw a historic moment as the world's first comprehensive legislation on AI started coming into force. Now, as of February 2 of this year, some of the most crucial provisions of the EU's landmark AI Act have come into effect: those that have to do with preventing unacceptab

Enrico Letta to Europe: 'Now is the time to act'

Feb 07 2025 12 mins  
Forty years after Europe's Single Market was conceived as the cornerstone of post-war integration for millions of citizens across its member states, a divided continent is in danger of behind left behind in a fierce global competition dominated by the United States and China, Italy’s former prime minister, Enrico Letta, told FRANCE 24.

Economy, migration, defence loom large in German election: A turning point for Europe?

Feb 07 2025 12 mins  
Of all the elections happening in the EU this year, the vote in Germany is probably the one that is being watched most closely across the bloc. Europe's largest economy is in trouble; the old model of cheap gas and easily accessible export markets is no longer working. Meanwhile, its political fragmentation makes it increasingly hard for Germany to re-define its role in Europe, whe