EU Scream

Terry Reintke unhesitatingly describes some EU lawmakers with anti-European and far-right views as fascists. Her directness stands in sharp contrast to bland circumlocutions more common to Brussels. Now Terry, a German who co-heads the Greens in the European Parliament, wants the chamber to launch an inquiry into whether its extreme right Identity and Democracy Group, or ID Group, adheres to European values. That inquiry, she says, should run in parallel to efforts in Germany to determine whether to ban one of the ID Group's main members, the Alternative for Germany or AfD. Terry made her proposal on Thursday, on the same day Marine Le Pen sought to put some distance between her far-right Rassemblement National and the ID Group. Terry's proposal and Le Pen's jitters come against the backdrop of mass demonstrations in Germany against the AfD. The demonstrations were prompted by a report that AfD members discussed deportations of non-assimilated people and of those with non-German backgrounds in what amounted to a disturbing echo of Nazi-era practices. The EU-level inquiry proposed by Terry would be based on Article 2 of the EU treaty. Any findings leading to restrictions or a ban on the ID Group would need to stand up in court, says Terry, who is widely expected to be a lead candidate in upcoming European elections. Also in this conversation: Terry discusses the basis of her antifascism; her vulnerability as a highly visible lesbian politician; how to manage conflicting priorities between Berlin and Brussels; and the divide with the US Green party over Ukraine.Support the show

The prospect of a wider conflict with Russia under a scenario where Donald Trump is back in the White House has spooked Europe. Thierry Breton, a European commissioner, is among those sounding the alarm. This month Breton made headlines by recalling how Trump said NATO was dead and the United States would never come to Europe's rescue. The journalist talking to Breton when he made those remarks is Teri Schultz. Teri has focused on European security for three decades, and her reports for National Public Radio and Deutsche Welle are often the first and last word on NATO and defence. In this episode, Teri discusses her exchange with Breton as well as key moments when Trump shook NATO to its core. Teri also reviews the announcement that NATO will hold its largest military exercise for decades. And she assesses her own readiness to follow NATO Military Committee chief Rob Bauer's advice to stock up on a flashlight, a radio, batteries, and water. Such items, says Bauer, are needed to survive the first 36 hours of a conflict of the kind that Swedish officials have been warning citizens about. "It's not a given that we are in peace," Bauer told a news conference. In addition: why Dutch caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte is likely to beat Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas in the race to succeed Jens Stoltenberg as the next NATO secretary general. Support the show

Mario Draghi is the obvious candidate to be the next president of the European Council. The job involves leading the meetings of EU heads of state and government. And it's wide open since incumbent Charles Michel announced he's quitting. But despite Draghi's notable achievements, including saving the euro and crafting game-changing policies on vaccines and sanctions, "Super Mario" seems unlikely to make the final cut. That's down to the reluctance of EU national leaders to be overshadowed by someone like Draghi who could truly command the world stage, says journalist David Carretta. David has worked with the Italian newspaper Il Foglio and Italian station Radio Radicale for more than two decades, and he's just launched an excellent morning newsletter with colleague Christian Spillman. In this episode, David discusses other runners and riders for the European Council job. He also talks about why the political centre is likely to hold, in one form or other, even if far-right parties make strong gains in the European Parliament elections in June. And then there's the story behind the Acca Laurentia rally in Rome on January 7, the failure of Italy to deal with its past, and how both help to explain the ascent of Giorgia Meloni and her neofascist Brothers of Italy party. Meloni, warns David, could easily revert to being pro-Putin if the war in Ukraine turns in Russia's favour and Donald Trump returns to the White House. Subscribe to David's and Christian's newsletter in Italian or French. Support the show

Jacques Delors passed away this week. He was the longest serving president of the European Commission. But what made Delors such a towering figure was his headlong rush to unify the continent. Monetary union. Free movement. The Single Market. Delors is the preeminent architect of the modern European project. Fast forward three decades and that architecture acutely concerns admirers of Delors. Among them is the well-known liberal lawmaker Sophie in ‘t Veld. Sophie has a lot to say about how the present-day Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen has grown timid in the face of pressures from national governments. Sophie also says those weaknesses have helped extremists like Viktor Orbán tighten their grip on power. In this year-end news review, Sophie talks about von der Leyen's appeasement of Orbán; the mess made by Brussels at the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war; and the dangers Geert Wilders poses for Europe. You may not agree with all of Sophie's views on, well, more Europe. But her experience and passion and eloquence mean her warnings about the dangers of our political moment cannot be ignored. We are, says Sophie, "sleepwalking" into a new era of autocracy and repression. As for Sophie herself, she plans to run for a fifth term as a member of the European Parliament. Her decision has been welcomed by those who robustly support democracy and want more oversight of the EU by elected lawmakers. However, she will run from Belgium, not Holland, and as part of a new pan-European movement called Volt, instead of D66, the party that's long been her home. It's time for a change. Volt, says Sophie, is not as prone to the cliquishness found in some political groups, nor is it beholden to those EU decision-makers that continue to accommodate Europe's autocrats and kleptocrats.Support the show

Big Meat had a good year in Europe. Plans to set emission limits for large-scale cattle farms were scrapped. Rules requiring landowners to restore wetlands were mostly gutted. And a keenly anticipated reform of the animal welfare rules was mostly consigned to the deep freeze. Among those promised animal welfare reforms: legislation to End the Cage Age. The idea was that hens, pigs, calves, rabbits, and quail would no longer be reared in conditions that inflict suffering and that underpin industrial farming, which is responsible for large amounts of greenhouse gases and other pollution. The campaign to end cages was the result of a European Citizens Initiative that garnered 1.4 million signatories and was backed by key European commissioners, parliamentarians, and scores of environmental and consumer rights and animal protection advocates. But in her state of the union speech, in September, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made no mention of animal welfare, let alone cages. And by October, the European Commission was in full retreat. So, what happened? In this episode: a deep dive into the activities and influence of a group called European Livestock Voice with Andrea Bertaglio, who is a journalist and the group’s campaign manager. Also in this episode: Thin Lei Win, the lead food systems reporter for Lighthouse Reports that oversaw the investigation; Arthur Neslen, a freelance journalist for The Guardian; Silvia Lazzaris, editor at Food Unfolded; and Olga Kikou, the head of Compassion in World Farming in Brussels. “This takes us far beyond animal welfare,” says Olga. “It’s a democracy issue.”Support the show

The podcast discusses the EU's reliance on a global race to mine metals and minerals, highlighting the challenges and risks it brings. It explores alternative proposals, such as collaboration and reusing resources. The impact of metals and minerals on green technologies, environmental consequences of copper mining, and the mining industry's green rebrand are also discussed. The podcast raises concerns about material footprint reduction targets, challenges faced by the Sami people, and the potential benefits and human rights issues associated with mining activities.

The problem of X as a source of hate and a threat to democracy is back at the top of the policy agenda. Elon Musk's social media platform circulated a large amount of false information as well as images of extreme violence during the recent terror attack in Israel. A European Commissioner, Thierry Breton, said that content probably was illegal in Europe and threatened X with fines. That standoff is likely to drag on for a while. But there's another European on Musk's case. His name is Imran Ahmed and he's already done much to hold X, and Musk, to account. Imran, who's British, runs a research and advocacy non-profit: The Center for Countering Digital Hate. The Center campaigns to get social media platforms to suspend or remove harmful accounts and stop advertisers spending money at sites spreading harmful content. And whereas Musk has kept his exchanges with Breton cordial, Musk has treated Imran like, well, vermin. The tension between Musk and Imran began after the Centre published its Toxic Twitter report in February. That report said that Musk had allowed large numbers of bad actors — Neo-Nazis, white supremacists, misogynists and conspiracists — back onto the platform with the goal of getting more eyeballs and advertising dollars. Now X is suing Imran's Center for losses amounting to tens of millions of dollars in advertising and other costs. How X's lawsuit in a California court pans out remains to be seen. But the discomfort Imran has already inflicted on Musk shows that David still can take on Goliath. And Imran's approach also holds lessons for regulators, like Mr. Breton, for the battles ahead. By way of disclosure: a board member at EU Scream also serves as a member of the board of the Center for Countering Digital Hate. Support the show

We need to talk about a Far Right EU. Nativists and ultraconservatives are being actively courted by the European mainstream including at the level of the EU. There's the advent of prime minister Giorgia Meloni, with her party's roots in Italian fascism, and then there's the popularity in France of Marine Le Pen, previously seen as too extreme. But would a Le Pen presidency really mark a fundamental change for the EU? Or even an existential threat, as commentators have long warned? The disarming answer from the author and think tanker Hans Kundnani is, probably not. The EU has already veered onto a course that's compatible with the likes of Le Pen and Meloni — away from social welfare as a defining feature and more toward an agenda that draws on ethnic and cultural identity. It's one of the ideas that Hans unpacks in his new book, Eurowhiteness. In this second of two episodes that take their cue from that book, Hans is in conversation with Mehreen Khan. Mehreen was an EU correspondent for the Financial Times in Brussels, before joining The Times of London as economics editor. She observes how pro-Europeans can also make pretty good nativists — and how many are prepared to tolerate the far right, just as long as they don't challenge European monetary union or foreign policy. So with far-right ideas in the ascendant, is there scope for optimism? Europe's second largest political group, the Socialists & Democrats, could consider a spell in opposition. That would avoid a grand coalition with the group that's currently the largest, the centre right, together with the far right. But that may be wishful thinking. And as for the Greens, their agenda may make it hard to rely on them to take a stand. Hans and Mehreen are joined by Helena Malikova, who moderates this episode, which is part of our Brussels So White series about race and the EU. Helena Malikova is talking in a personal capacity and the views expressed are not attributable to her employer, the European Commission. If you enjoy this episode, be sure to listen to Part 1, How Eurowhiteness Shapes the EU.Support the show

Europeans are comfortable talking about whiteness in the American context. But when it comes to their own continent, not so much. That serves to shut down an important conversation about police brutality, decolonisation and migration. The resistance to discussing whiteness is starkly apparent at the level of the EU and it's another sign the European project is heading in a troubling direction. That's the assessment of Hans Kundnani, the author of a ground-breaking new book titled Eurowhiteness. Hans is an associate fellow at the think tank Chatham House in London, and he was previously with the German Marshall Fund and the European Centre for Foreign Relations. In his book, Hans describes an EU that still presents itself as congenial and cosmopolitan. In reality, he says, the EU has become much harder edged — and much more about protecting cultural and ethnic identity. Marking her return to EU Scream is Mehreen Khan, a former EU correspondent for the Financial Times in Brussels and now economics editor at The Times of London. Mehreen says Eurowhiteness is a rich concept — one that helps shed light on the Balkan wars, the colonial reflexes of senior EU figures as well as the quasi religious aspect of some pro-Europeanism. Hans and Mehreen are joined by Helena Malikova, who moderates the first of two episodes that are part of our BrusselsSoWhite series about race in the EU. Helena is talking in a personal capacity and the views expressed are not attributable to her employer, the European Commission. If you enjoy this episode, look out for Part 2 on Eurowhiteness and a far right EU. Support the show

News from Spain where a far-right political party called Vox lost seats in the recent general election. Vox are culture warriors in the mould of the US MAGA movement: anti-migrant, anti-LGBT+, anti-Islam, anti-feminist and with a predilection for blocking action on EU climate goals. The response in Brussels to Vox's poor showing was triumphalism. But the uncomfortable truth is that Vox could well have been headed into power as the preferred coalition partner for Alberto Feijóo, the leader of the Spanish conservatives. As it turned out, the July 23 election was a stalemate. A coalition with Vox looks less likely, for now. But Vox could yet form part of a conservative-led government in future. And the prospect of conservatives relying on the far-right mirrors a similar dynamic across Europe. Conservatives already partner with the far-right in Italy, Sweden and Finland and at the regional level in Spain and Austria. Even the leader of Germany's conservative CDU has been eyeing such an arrangement. So how to make sense of this courtship of far-right parties? Can conservatives defang those to their right by co-opting them? Or does co-option merely give bigotry a bigger platform and move politics in a more radical direction? Whatever the case, conservatives bear a special responsibility when making alliances to their right. That special responsibility was the topic of our episode with Harvard professor Daniel Ziblatt a couple of years ago. We're re-running an abridged version of that conversation in response to what's happening in Spain — and because we're in the run up to EU election season. The European People’s Party, which groups together centre-right national parties, is flirting more openly than ever with potential allies who represent a new era of blood and soil politics, and who balk at modern progressive democracy — including the need to address climate change. Conservative parties "have to deal with and think about and worry about what happens on their right edges," says Dan.  They must "figure out a strategy to distance themselves from these groups, but at the same time not allow these groups to get out of control, and shape politics."Support the show