Why did French President Emmanuel Macron choose Francois Bayrou as Prime Minister and how might he approach the role differently from his predecessor Michel Barnier? Today Radio Schuman dives into the issue in conversation with Euronews reporter Gregoire Lory. Bayrou, a former minister and three-time presidential candidate, leads the centrist Democratic Movement (MoDem), which he founded in 2007. Currently, Bayrou is holding preliminary talks with France’s political parties, including the far-ri...
Dec 17, 2024•16 min•Season 2Ep. 80
Today Radio Schuman chews over the confidence vote in Germany, expected to hand a clear lead to the SPD’s conservative rivals, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian counterpart, the Christian Social Union (CSU), with Olivia Stroud, Euronews Berlin correspondent. Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s political future is precarious. His coalition government of Social Democrats and Greens has lacked a majority since the liberal FDP exited. On the international stage, Germany faces mounting chall...
Dec 16, 2024•14 min•Season 2Ep. 79
Georgia has recently experienced weeks of protests following parliamentary elections that secured a win for the ruling Georgian Dream party. In the aftermath, the party announced plans to suspend efforts to join the European Union. On Saturday, the country faces presidential elections, a development that could further destabilise the nation of 3.7 million people and potentially accelerate the government’s distancing from the EU. Although the presidency in Georgia is largely ceremonial, this elec...
Dec 13, 2024•16 min•Season 2Ep. 78
Right to asylum should not be considered as a 'value' but rather a principle of international law, Olivia Sundberg, migration expert from Amnesty International told Euronews in an interview featured in Radio Schuman today. Yesterday, the European Commission presented a communication focusing on measures against countries such as Russia and Belarus, which are accused of facilitating entry of migrants into EU territory. This phenomenon is described as a ‘hybrid threat', and the European Commission...
Dec 12, 2024•17 min•Season 2Ep. 77
The European Union should prioritise establishing a viable political process in Syria, while the situation in the country and the prospects for refugees remain uncertain, a senior Middle East expert at the Italian think tank Istituto Affari Internazionali told Euronews in an interview with Radio Schuman. Since the fall of Bashar al Assad's regime, the EU has carefully calibrated its reactions to developments in Syria, avoiding triumphalism or pessimism. Since 2011, the EU has imposed sanctions o...
Dec 11, 2024•23 min•Season 2Ep. 76
With French opposition remaining to the EU-Mercosur deal struck last week by the EU, the real work on the deal starts now, French liberal MEP Marie-Pierre Vedrenne tells the Radio Schuman podcast today. Last week, the EU finalised the contentious Mercosur agreement with some South Amercan countries, a deal that follows on-and-off negotiations that began in 1999. However, France—one of the largest EU member states—along with several other countries with sizeable dairy and beef industries, opposes...
Dec 10, 2024•20 min•Season 2Ep. 75
Montenegro's President told Euronews he's optimistic about the country's progress to EU accession by 2028 in an interview we feature on Radio Schuman today. Jakov Milatović, elected on a pro-EU, anti-corruption platform, has pushed for reforms to meet accession criteria. The country has opened 33 negotiation chapters, with three are provisionally closed. The country also joined NATO in 2017. Challenges remain, including press freedom, judicial independence, and reducing Russian influence, he sai...
Dec 09, 2024•21 min•Season 2Ep. 74
The European Union must decide what it really wants from Georgia, former head of Georgian mission to the EU Natalie Sabanadze told Radio Schuman in an interview. According to Sabanadze, currently senior research fellow at the International Affairs think tank Chatham House, EU should react to the recently re-elected Georgian Dream party's decision to suspend EU accession talks. Last week, thousands of Georgians protested in the capital, Tbilisi, after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced th...
Dec 06, 2024•21 min•Season 2Ep. 73
Will France manage to kill off the Mercosur agreement? Today and tomorrow, 5 and 6 December, crucial negotiations to finalise the EU-Mercosur agreement take place in Uruguay. If approved, the trade deal involving the EU and the South American bloc, comprising Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia, would become the EU’s largest trade agreement in terms of population and trade volume. But France continues to oppose it, leaving no room for compromise. Today Radio Schuman analyses the si...
Dec 05, 2024•8 min•Season 2Ep. 72
How France's political instability will hit Brussels is today's topic for Radio Schuman, which talked with Euronews reporter Gregoire Lory. If a vote of no-confidence surrounding the budget succeeds, French Prime Minister Michel Barnier will be forced to step down, leaving a caretaker government in charge. This political turmoil further weakens President Emmanuel Macron, who may face pressure to resign or appoint a new Prime Minister. Meanwhile, despite gaining concessions on the budget, far-rig...
Dec 04, 2024•14 min•Season 2Ep. 71
Will the role of TikTok in the Romanian presidential elections prove a test for Brussels’ enforcement of social media? The video playing app played a significant role in the rise of Calin Georgescu, a previously little-known candidate who won the first round of Romania's national elections. However, TikTok refutes its impact on the poll, citing its strict guidelines banning political ads and combating covert influence operations. The platform is also bound to follow transparency rules under the ...
Dec 03, 2024•17 min•Season 2Ep. 70
How will the new President of the European Council differ from his predecessor, Charles Michel? What are his main challenges, and how does he plan to reshape the Council, representing the 27 member states? Radio Schuman focuses on António Costa today. Costa is widely recognised for his bridge-building abilities, extensive political experience—as former Prime Minister of Portugal, Mayor of Lisbon, and Member of Parliament—and seniority. He is expected to get along with European Commission Preside...
Dec 01, 2024•16 min•Season 2Ep. 69
Romania has never been pro-Russian and politicians backed by Russia rarely present themselves as such, Romanian centre-right MEP Siegfried Muresan told Radio Schuman in today's episode. Muresan said this applied to Calin Georgescu, the little-known far-right populist and TikTok personality who unexpectedly won the first round of Romania's presidential election, adding that he had put forth an ''anti-European stance, seeking to undermine Europe, its values, and the rule of law." Georgescu was pro...
Nov 29, 2024•18 min•Season 2Ep. 68
Newly elected European Commissioner Teresa Ribera criticised the public outcry she received from the European People's Party, which almost brought down her candidacy for the position as executive vice-president for the Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, speaking to Radio Schuman in Strasbourg. She lamented domestic politics being infused into the EU debate and criticised climate deniers among the centre-right European People's Party (EPP). Yesterday, EPP leaders, including chair Manfred Web...
Nov 28, 2024•9 min•Season 2Ep. 67
Europe Today is Euronews’ daily podcast hosted by Maria Tadeo and Méabh Mc Mahon, broadcasting directly from Brussels, at the heart of Europe. Every morning, we deliver the top and exclusive stories shaping the European Union (EU) and beyond. Stay ahead with the key news and insights that matter in Europe today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Nov 27, 2024•8 min•Season 2Ep. 66
Financial sanctions remain the EU's best tool for combatting rule-of-law abuses, the outgoing European justice commissioner told Euronews' Shona Murray in an exclusive interview we feature on Radio Schuman today. Věra Jourová acknowledged that while court proceedings take time, financial sanctions have proven to be the most effective mechanism based on her experience. In Brussels, Jourová is known for her sharp tongue and has played a prominent role in the EU’s efforts to uphold media freedom an...
Nov 26, 2024•13 min•Season 2Ep. 65
The chair of the European Parliament's committee of trade tells Radio Schuman how the EU can counter Donald Trump's trade tariffs today. While there’s concern in Brussels about Trump’s call to slap tariffs on EU goods of at least 10 percent, officials have been scratching their heads on how to handle Trump. Earlier this month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed to replace Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports with those from the US. Socialist MEP Bernd Lange told u...
Nov 25, 2024•17 min•Season 2Ep. 64
Why has the EU deforestation law become so politicised and what role is Germany is playing? Julia Christian, forests and agriculture campaigner at the Brussels-based NGO Fern, tells Radio Schuman today the centre-right German CDU party - a European People's Party (EPP) member - is seeking to disrupt the implementation of the EU deforestation law as national elections approach, aiming to gain votes. The EU Deforestation law aims to combat global deforestation by imposing due diligence obligations...
Nov 22, 2024•15 min•Season 2Ep. 63
Today Radio Schuman questions whether the EU adopt outgoing US president Joe Biden's approach towards Ukraine regarding the supply of weaponry, together with Euronews's Sasha Vakulina. On Tuesday, Ukraine reportedly employed six US-supplied Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to strike targets within Russian territory. These long-range missiles, with a range of approximately 190 miles, had previously been restricted for use within Ukraine’s international borders. However, the deployment of No...
Nov 21, 2024•11 min•Season 2Ep. 62
Moldova applied to join the EU in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and the country has set 2030 as a target to join the bloc. But it is is deeply divided between its pro-EU aspirations, and the temptation to side with Russia, which has supported Moldova’s Transnistria since the eastern region declared its independence 30 years ago. Earlier this month, Moldova's pro-Western incumbent president Maia Sandu won a second term in a race that was marred by claims of Russian interferenc...
Nov 20, 2024•17 min•Season 2Ep. 61
At the Foreign Affairs Council, EU member states showed little support for Josep Borrell's proposal to suspend political dialogue with Israel. Borrell aimed to force a clear stance on Israel’s actions and suggested banning imports from illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. However, suspending dialogue requires unanimous approval, highlighting existing divisions over the Israel-Hamas conflict. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani dismissed the idea as nonsensical, while ...
Nov 19, 2024•16 min•Season 2Ep. 60
Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly taken by Russian authorities. So far, Kyiv has managed to bring back only around 1,000. Ukraine's Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, recently addressed the European Parliament to denounce this war crime. Many of these children have had their identities changed and are being enlisted into the Russian army. Moscow denies the accusations, with the president of the Russian Fed...
Nov 18, 2024•16 min•Season 2Ep. 59
Doubts are growing over whether the European Parliament be able to approve the new European Commission, the EU's arm executive, on 27 November as planned. On Wednesday, the European People's Party (EPP), set to secure the most European commissioners, threatened to block the appointment of Spain's Teresa Ribera. They demanded the competition commissioner designate explain in a Spanish court why her government failed to anticipate floods in Spain that resulted in over 200 deaths and called for her...
Nov 15, 2024•20 min•Season 2Ep. 58
Barroso, a former Portuguese Prime Minister, was President of the European Commission twice, from 2004 to 2014. It was under his presidency that Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU and that Russia illegally annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. In an interview with Euronews's Shona Murray, Barroso made clear that despite the backsliding of the rule of law in Europe, the EU should not solve political problems with institutional tools like treaty change; he also called Crimea a “special case,” and a...
Nov 14, 2024•27 min•Season 2Ep. 57
It's too early to point the finger over deadly floods in Valencia, as tens of thousands protest a government response they see as inadequate, Spain's economy minister Carlos Cuerpo told Euronews in an exclusive interview that we feature on Radio Schuman today. Spain will do “whatever it takes” to help those afflicted by devastating floods, but it’s too early to start assigning blame, Cuerpo said. The deadly flooding in Valencia has claimed hundreds of lives, and led tens of thousands of protesto...
Nov 13, 2024•16 min•Season 2Ep. 56
Will UNRWA, which has provided emergency, education services and healthcare to millions of Palestinian refugees since 1949 survive the conflict in Gaza? The answer is not clear. Since the October 7 attack launched by Hamas against Israel, the UN agency has been at the heart of a controversy that puts its survival at risk. In October, lawmakers from the Knesset – Israel’s parliament - passed legislation that banned the agency from operating in Israeli territory months after claiming that 12 UNRWA...
Nov 12, 2024•23 min•Season 2Ep. 55
With some European leaders boycotting the COP 29 summit, opening in Baku today days after the re-election of Donald Trump as US president, who has compared climate change to a hoax, Radio Schuman talked with Euronews science reporter Jeremy Wilks about the prospects for the conference. With thousands of leaders, diplomats, climate experts, NGOs and journalists beating a path to the United Nations Climate talks in the Azeri capital, is there a real chance of success in their mission to hash out a...
Nov 11, 2024•17 min•Season 2Ep. 54
Europe was unprepared for a Trump victory and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán could become the US 47th president's key interlocutor, former French European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton told Radio Schuman in an exclusive interview we feature today. We spoke to Breton as European leaders convened in Budapest for the Informal European Council, seeking to forge a unified stance on Trump’s declared intentions to end the Ukraine war “within 24 hours” and to impose tariffs on a...
Nov 08, 2024•31 min•Season 2Ep. 53
In various polls conducted across Europe days before the US elections, most Europeans sided with Kamala Harris. So the news of Trump’s re-election yesterday came as a disappointment for Harris supporters in Europe but it also bewildered many of them: where did her campaign go so wrong? Today Radio Schuman chews the question with Euronews' US election analyst Boyd Wagner. In the second part of the podcast, we take a quick look at the European Political Community summit today in Budapest and anoth...
Nov 07, 2024•15 min•Season 2Ep. 52
Europe should strive to maintain a professional relationship with Donald Trump, ex-Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told Euronews' live election results show this morning. Today Radio Schuman draws exclusive reaction from the show including from Euronews' Washington DC correspondent, Stefan Grobe. How will the EU deal with a potential second Donald Trump presidency? We also take a quick look at European Commissioner nominees hearings at the European Parliament: who will be grilled today by MEP...
Nov 06, 2024•10 min•Season 2Ep. 51
