Talking Europe

This week we take a closer look at the Green Transition in Europe - from the invaluable invertebrates in the soil beneath us, to the end of obsolete coal mines and the revolution in transport, our show investigates just how fast Europe is becoming greener - and how to ensure no-one is left behind in the race to decarbonise.

Another edition of our EU election series, on individual countries and regions in the EU: The Republic of Ireland is considered to be one of the most pro-EU member states, and the Eurobarometer poll that came out this spring bears that out: 67 percent of respondents said that the EU conjures up a positive image. But being pro-European does not necessarily mean supporting the tradit

With just a few weeks to go before EU elections, the far right in France is on track for a comfortable win, if the polls are correct. The National Rally only just beat France's ruling party, Renaissance, in the last EU elections in 2019. This time, a wide gap has opened between the two, potentially striking a serious political blow to President Emmanuel Macron and his idea of a mor

It has been called an invisible epidemic. Every year, around 300,000 people in Europe die prematurely because of air pollution, according to the European Environment Agency. Those of us living in cities are particularly exposed to unsafe levels of fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide. The EU is trying to bring air quality closer to World Health Organization guidelines, but

Is the EU's single market failing? Faced with growing competition from China and the US, the bloc is falling behind. The union has been relying on the single market to guarantee the free movement of goods, capital, services and people for more than 30 years. But inertia is creeping in, and it’s time for a new single market, says our guest Enrico Letta, a former prime minister of

Georgia has erupted in protest once again, as the ruling Georgian Dream party pursues a "foreign agents" bill in parliament – something that has left a question mark hanging over the country’s European ambitions. The EU granted the ex-Soviet nation candidate status to join the bloc last December. We speak to Georgia's President Salomé Zourabichvili, who plans to veto the final

Talking Europe sits down with one of the European Parliament’s most prominent veterans, Co-chair of the Greens Philippe Lamberts. The Belgian MEP has served in three legislatures since 2009 and says he has seen a big difference in both awareness and action on environmental issues in that time. Lamberts, who is stepping down from the EU Parliament, is characteristically outspoken

As Spaniards get ready to elect 61 MEPs to the European Parliament in the June 9 elections, regional elections in Spain are sucking much of the political oxygen. The pro-independence EH Bildu coalition celebrated a historic result in the Basque vote on April 20. Many eyes are now turned to the Catalan regional election on May 12, while the Spanish government works on a controversia

For months, Europe has been rocked by protests as farmers decry high costs and low prices, in addition to what they call unfair competition from Ukraine, and the constraints of environmental regulations. EU elites are worried that the farmers' movement will boost anti-establishment parties in the European elections this June. The EU Commission has put forward proposals to ease the

Talking Europe hosts former Spanish foreign minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya, who is now dean of one of the top international relations schools in the world – the Paris School of International Affairs. We delve into the EU election campaign, EU competitiveness, transatlantic relations and the fragile political situation in Spain amid rising tensions over the Catalan issue.