Summer is here in France — an opportune moment for us to look back on this last parliamentary season in Europe, which got underway in September 2021.For FRANCE 24's Europe team, our job involves travelling around the continent to hear from locals and decision-makers in EU member states. Here are a few moments that stood out for us in our last few programmes.
The first half of 2022 has been dominated by the war in Ukraine. In Poland, we visited a refugee centre for Ukrainians in Krakow which was set up from scratch in March, and we interviewed Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister and two opposition lawmakers about their country’s response to the war.
Besides the war in Ukraine, issues of asylum and irregular migration into the EU remain somewhat unresolved. Indeed, the EU's member states have yet to sign off on a pan-EU migration policy.
The Mediterranean archipelago of Malta is one of the EU's major entry points for people seeking to enter the bloc without the necessary papers, many of them having paid smugglers to get them here. In the Maltese capital Valetta, Cameroonian asylum-seeker Felix told us about his experience. We also heard from Nina Gregori, Head of the EU’s Asylum Agency, about how asylum-seekers are treated and whether European political attitudes towards migration are changing.
In Malta, our reporter also met journalists and relatives of the murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia to learn how the shockwaves of her killing are still resonating in the island nation nearly five years on.
In late 2021, we took our viewers to Germany to see the aftermath of the deadly floods of July 2021. We also asked a German Green member of the European Parliament how the new government intends to tackle climate change, and visited one of Europe’s biggest open cast mines to learn about Germany’s difficult transition to green energy.
Lastly, our trip to Slovenia gave us the chance to discover how destinations around the continent are balancing environmental concerns with their bottom line post-Covid.
Produced by Georgina Robertson.
The action was co-financed by the European Union in the frame of the European Parliament's grant programme in the field of communication. The European Parliament was not involved in its preparation and is, in no case, responsible for or bound by the information or opinions expressed in the context of this action. In accordance with applicable law, the authors, interviewed people, publishers or programme broadcasters are solely responsible. The European Parliament can also not be held liable for direct or indirect damage that may result from the implementation of the action.
