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We sit down with David McAllister, the chair of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee. He talks to us about the security threats facing Europe, and what defence gaps the EU urgently needs to close. For McAllister, the EU is "not at war with the Russian Federation, but we are no longer at peace with Russia". He also believes that the EU is not, as yet, capable of making sovereign decisions in certain areas of defence "because we are too dependent on US capabilities." Asked about the worsening security situation that Europe faces, McAllister says: "We need to establish a fully fledged European defence by the end of this decade. We need to be able to defend ourselves against all the imminent threats we are facing. And that means spending more, but also spending more effectively, because it is taxpayers' money that we are spending in large numbers. There are certain military capabilities that we don't have in Europe, for the time being. There are fields in which we have to move ahead. I'm talking about ammunition and anti-drone systems. I'm talking about satellite intelligence. I'm talking about air-to-air refuelling. I'm talking about air defence in general. These are fields where we are not in a situation to take sovereign decisions because we are too dependent on US capabilities. We have to close these gaps urgently." Speaking of threats, McAllister asserts that "we are not at war with the Russian Federation, but we are longer at peace with Russia. We have every day, every week, violations of our airspace, attacks on our critical infrastructure, cyberattacks. That is also why it was so positive that the Federal Republic of Germany got the immediate solidarity of all 26 other member states (after the drone attack on Leipzig airport, attributed to Russian special services). An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. And that's why it's correct to sanction the Russian Federation, to further sanction individuals, but also to come up with new additional ideas for how we can better protect our critical infrastructure." We ask about German Chancellor Friedrich Merz leading the charge to secure hundreds of billions of euros in cuts from the proposed EU budget, also known as the Multiannual Financial Framework, or MFF.  Would Merz's proposal not hurt cohesion, regional development and social spending that EU member states actually benefit from?  "We are now entering crunch time, and we still have a lot of work ahead of us," McAllister concedes. "There will be controversial debates, but I'm very sure that in the end, as always, there will be a last-minute solution. If you look back over the last 10, 15, 20 years, there have always been heated discussions about the size and the dimension of the MFF and who will pay how much and for what. [EU Council President] Antonio Costa has been clear. He wants an agreement on the next MFF, starting on the 1st of January in 2028. I would welcome that because we need the year 2027 for the necessary legislative work and so that everyone who receives EU money has clarity and can plan better for the years 2028 to 2034." In Germany, the far-right AfD party surged in recent regional elections in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-West Pomerania. What are the implications for conservatives, for Christian Democrats and for the European People's Party?  "We have different political conditions in the 27 member states, and we have different strategies," McAllister says. "I can only say, as a German Christian Democrat, our strategy towards the AfD is that if we are convinced of something and we propose legislation, and by chance the AfD supports it, then we accept this. But they are our policies. We never support proposals coming from the AfD. We never actively engage with the AfD. We are strictly against this. Why? Because the AfD is questioning the fundamentals of the Federal Republic of Germany and also of the European Union. They are against the EU. They are against the euro. They are against NATO. They are pro-Putin and they are following a right-wing populist radical course. And that is not where the EPP should be. We are the party of common sense and that is in the centre." Programme prepared by Isabelle Romero, Perrine Desplats, Paul Guianvarc'h, Agnès Le Cossec and Florine Hausfater

Alarm bells are ringing about fuel prices across the EU. The average cost of diesel per litre is well above €2, whereas in October of last year it was around €1.50. Even before this latest spike, the cost of living was already biting, and it seems that the conflict in the Middle East is not going to give Europeans much respite as the winter draws closer. We review what EU member states have done to cushion the blow of rising energy prices for ordinary people, and whether those measures have been effective. Programme prepared by Isabelle Romero, Perrine Desplats, Paul Guianvarc'h, Agnès Le Cossec and Florine Hausfater

The EU has gone through seven waves of enlargement since 1973, but there has not been one since Croatia joined in 2013. Indeed, there are not likely to be any new members in the club before 2028 – some 15 years after Croatia entered. But 2026 undeniably has momentum, and is on track to be a record year in terms of opening and closing new chapters for existing applicants. That is why our guest, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos, sees this as "the year of the enlargement." "Montenegro, which is really the frontrunner, could finish technical negotiations at the end of the year, and then become a member in 2028," Kos says. "Albania is well on the way. Moldova is delivering better and better and, of course, also Ukraine. So these are the four frontrunners. But when we say that this is the year of the enlargement, I mean that in the nine months of this year, we have opened and closed more chapters than in any previous year in the last 25 years." But there's a distinction between the frontrunner and the best student. Kos says that Moldova "is the best performer in my class," taking into account that it started the process much later than applicant countries in the Balkans. Speaking of the Balkans, Kos admits that there is uneven implementation of reforms, which could lead to €330 million in EU funding shifting away from the weakest performers. "We will see how much money we will reallocate," Kos says. "Montenegro, for instance, has a 91 percent implementation rate of reforms to date. But then we also have Bosnia and Herzegovina with a zero (rate), because their politicians are not able to ratify two important agreements which would enable us to pay the money," Kos explains. "You know, our European Union is not a charity. So in order to be able to help their economies and societies to develop, they have to deliver the reforms, and we only give the money if they are doing this." We turn to Serbia, which has been an EU candidate since 2012, but which has had a turbulent relationship with Brussels. According to Kos, "the trust between EU member states and Serbia was broken even more with the glorification of the war criminal Ratko Mladic at his funeral, which is really unacceptable. And that's also why I cancelled my planned mission to Serbia. We can have different opinions on how fast a country should make reforms. But there is no space for the glorification of a war criminal, or for denying the genocide in Srebrenica. We expect all the EU candidates, especially those from the Western Balkans, to walk the way of reconciliation. But sometimes I have the feeling that, instead of healing the wounds of the past, leaders are rubbing salt into those wounds." Of course, enlargement is not only about the EU's closest neighbours. While Georgia's EU bid has stalled, Armenia is increasingly eyeing EU membership as an attractive option – even though it has not formally applied. "We are helping Armenia, especially now when Russia stopped importing many Armenian products. So we are helping Armenia to redirect its exports to the European Union. We are also in the process of visa liberalisation. This means that Armenians would be able to travel to the EU without a visa. So now they have to align a lot of legislation, and they are doing great work. I'm full of admiration for the people of Armenia. It is not easy but, with the result of the last parliamentary elections, they have clearly shown that they want to be on the European path."

It has been called Europe's disaster year. 2026 has seen more than 30,000 excess deaths linked to heatwaves, along with mega wildfires, nuclear power plants having to shut down, gas plants under pressure, droughts reducing hydropower generation from rivers and wild fluctuations in electricity prices, not to mention major disruptions to crops and farming in general. So is the EU adapting effectively to the new normal of climate breakdown? And are the plans announced by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on a "heatwave plan" and related measures credible? We put the question to two MEPs. Programme prepared by Perrine Desplats, Isabelle Romero and Agnès Le Cossec

Ireland is managing a jam-packed agenda as the current holder of the rotating presidency of the EU. We caught up with the country’s Minister of State for European Affairs, Thomas Byrne, who was in Strasbourg for the 2026 State of the Union speech and debate with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. We discussed key points from that address, such as a proposed ban on social media access for children, which Ireland is keen to push forward with during its EU presidency. On talks coming up on the 2028-2034 EU budget, Byrne says that Ireland is ideally positioned to be a broker because, while it is now a net contributor to the budget, "we were until relatively recently a net recipient of EU funds, so we’ve seen both sides of the picture." "We tend to be quite pragmatic about all of this," Byrne says.   Programme produced by Perrine Desplats, Florine Hausfater and Agnès Le Cossec.

In this episode, we debrief one of the key annual events in the EU calendar: the State of the Union speech. It was Ursula von der Leyen’s sixth such address as President of the European Commission, and the second State of the Union speech of her second mandate. We home in on the key innovations since the 2026 address: a potential associate membership for Canada with the European Union, a proposed ban on social media use for children and an as-yet vague ‘emergency framework’ to deal with Ceuta-like migrant crises. Programme prepared by Isabelle Romero, Perrine Desplats, Florine Hausfater and Agnès Le Cossec

"European strategic autonomy" is a buzz phrase in Brussels and in EU capitals these days. What does it mean for space policy? That was one of the central points that we raised with the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Luc Frieden, during his visit to Paris for the International Space Summit hosted by the French government on September 9 and 10. Major American aerospace companies were noticeably absent from the summit while the feud between Brussels and the Trump administration continues. We began by talking about the far-right breakthrough in Germany – the AfD’s victory in the Saxony-Anhalt regional election at the beginning of September – a political earthquake that sent tremors right across the EU. "Of course, we live in democracies, so it is for the people of the respective (EU) countries to vote for their leaders, and I am a very strong supporter of democratic elections," Frieden said. "Yet at the same time, people should realise what would happen if we didn’t have Europe. Europe is the answer to the disaster of the last century. We shouldn't forget the lessons of history. Nationalism, discrimination of minorities, of Jews and other minorities, led to the Second World War."  Frieden continued: "The consequence (of far-right election wins) is that those in the political centre to which I belong must show that they can still achieve the promise of Europe. I want to make sure that tomorrow Europe remains a continent of peace. But peace is not the only thing. We need to have prosperity; this big market where products that are produced in one country can be sold in another country. This is the promise that is making the lives of people better." We asked if it was a blow to the EU’s image that US aerospace companies such as SpaceX stayed away from the international space summit hosted by the French government, reportedly because of pressure from the Trump administration. "Strategic autonomy means the freedom to decide for yourself. But deciding for yourself, including in space, does not mean that you exclude all the others. It doesn’t mean that you isolate yourself," Frieden explained. "As Europeans, we can be proud of what we have achieved with our universities, our research centres, our companies. We have strong companies that are building rockets; that are building satellites. And we should continue with quantum technology, where we use satellites to communicate between continents. My country is playing a leading role on that. All this is necessary. But America is and remains our friend. And on many occasions, we need their technology." Skeptical that the US does not see cooperation with Europe that way, we recalled that the EU was again sidelined from the US diplomatic efforts over Ukraine in early September. Frieden responded: "On Ukraine, Europe cannot be a mediator because Europe is clearly on the side of Ukraine," Frieden responded. "We are supporting Ukraine because what is at stake is much more than just those provinces in the east of Ukraine. It's about the fundamental principle in which we strongly believe that borders cannot be changed by force. And therefore, every effort that the United States is making to help find a solution finds the support of Europe. Now we have to interact with America so as to make sure that the voice of Europe is also heard. We obviously would like the Americans to be more inclined towards multilateralism. So this is a difficult and challenging time, but we have a lot of links with America, also in economic terms, that we need to preserve."   Programme produced by Perrine Desplats, Isabelle Romero, Agnès Le Cossec and Florine Hausfater

In Brussels, opinion polls coming out of France have not escaped attention. Two polls see far right leader Marine Le Pen beating all her likely rivals in the French presidential election, which is set to take place in April and May of next year.  Le Pen, the head of the far-right National Rally party, is projected to beat out the competition in a second round against far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, as well as against mainstream candidates Raphaël Glucksmann, currently an MEP, and former prime ministers Gabriel Attal and Édouard Philippe. A European Union with Le Pen in charge in France would likely be a very different EU from the current one. We discuss with our guests at the European Parliament. Programme prepared by Isabelle Romero, Perrine Desplats and Florine Hausfater

Are great-power politics back, at the expense of smaller countries? In an age of strongmen, is multilateralism in retreat? Not according to Jozef Sikela. The EU Commissioner in charge of International Partnerships insists that traditional multilateralism is alive and well, especially in the EU's approach to Africa and to the Arctic. We sat down with him for an interview at the European Commission in Brussels. Sikela notes that after the "dismantling" of US development aid under the Trump administration, the EU's share "might even increase". He adds that "there is no other way round, because instability and problems on the neighbouring continent do not know borders. So if we do not help to strengthen the economies of the countries in the (African) neighbourhood, we are basically creating problems for ourselves. So I don't see this as aid. This is a geopolitical strategy. Because if we create jobs, if we create sustainable development – something where Europe is the world champion by far – we will also strengthen our resilience. This is also about multilateralism and about investing in Europe's future. We can contribute to the fight against the climate change, and we can also get the access to the mineral resources that we need for the climate and the digital transition." So is the EU exploiting the mineral resources of African countries? Is there a kind of neo-colonialism happening? "We work with a 360-degree approach," Sikela replies. "We talk to the government, but we also onboard the local NGOs, and civil society. For example, the Lobito corridor (linking Zambia, DR Congo and Angola): this is not just about the 1,300 kilometres of the railway. This is about the whole ecosystem. This is about the sustainable agriculture. This is about the financing of the SMEs. This is about creating the opportunities for local people along the whole route." Sikela has been closely involved with the Arctic Forum, and with updating the EU's Arctic strategy. Was Iceland's vote not to restart accession talks with the EU a missed opportunity ? "We respect this decision," Sikela answers. "Iceland is a very strong ally and will remain a very strong ally of the European Union. It is a member of NATO and a member of Schengen. Our approach is to let the people decide their own destiny. And this is the same approach we want to have in Greenland. We want to help Greenland to become stronger, to restructure their economy, to strengthen sustainable tourism, to invest in transit routes, in digitalisation, in connectivity. And of course to get access to the critical raw materials in this area. All this is not possible without investing in the people of Greenland because of course they should be the executors of this transformation." Sikela sees a potential win-win in which the EU helps Arctic territories to develop and at the same time "Europe protects its own interests by partnering with the Arctic states, and also protects the infrastructure which is being built, because hybrid war is about attacking critical infrastructure". Programme prepared by Isabelle Romero, Perrine Desplats and Florine Hausfater

"Who do I call if I want to speak to Europe?" The famous quote attributed to Henry Kissinger still resonates today. There is in fact a Mrs Europe on the world stage: Kaja Kallas, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. She is actually the sixth high representative. But ever since that post was created, rivalries between different centres of power have diluted the EU's ability to speak with one voice. We saw that recently with tensions over who should represent the EU in any potential talks with Russia. There is now also a Franco-German idea to overhaul the EU's diplomatic service. We discuss these issues with prominent German Green MEP Hannah Neumann and former Estonian foreign minister Urmas Paet. Programme prepared by Isabelle Romero, Perrine Desplats and Florine Hausfater

The European Parliament declared a climate emergency in 2019, yet the EU still appears to be caught off guard by increasingly severe heatwaves and heat domes. With temperatures this summer set to break records and expose millions of Europeans to dangerous heat, we ask whether the bloc has neglected the short-term measures needed to protect people from extreme heat. Programme prepared by Isabelle Romero, Perrine Desplats and Oihana Almandoz

Our guest this week is Apostolos Tzitzikostas, the European Commissioner for sustainable transport and tourism.  Cancellations, delays and unventilated trains… Europe’s recent heatwave exposed some of the weaknesses of the bloc’s rail network. Despite ageing tracks and rolling stock, EU Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas insists the system is improving. He says the Commission has carried out an assessment to identify which parts of the network require further upgrades and which are already resilient enough to cope with increasingly extreme weather. But he acknowledges that much more investment will be needed “to make sure we are ready for what is coming, because the climate crisis is here and it’s getting worse”. As the EU encourages Europeans to switch to more sustainable forms of transport, particularly rail, Tzitzikostas argues that the case for doing so now extends beyond climate concerns. “It’s not only about the environment anymore. It is about the environment, of course, but it is also about our strategic independence.” He points to the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz as an example of Europe's vulnerability to global energy shocks. “It showed the world what it means to be dependent on third countries for energy.” For the Commissioner, the long-term answer is to increase the production of alternative fuels within the EU. Air travel was also hit by a surge in jet fuel prices following the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, pushing up air fares. Tzitzikostas says Europe did not face a supply shortage but a price shock. “We don’t have an issue of supply, but we have an issue of price.” He argues that Europe's ability to produce around 70% of the jet fuel it consumes, combined with more diversified imports, helped cushion the impact of reduced supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. As for air fares, he expects prices to fall once a lasting agreement between the United States and Iran restores normal shipping through the Strait. While the EU has little control over airline ticket prices, it has made progress on passengers' rights. After more than a decade of negotiations, Tzitzikostas says Europe “will finally have a set of rules for passengers’ rights that is fair, that is just, that is very supportive of the passengers.” Among the changes, parents will be guaranteed seats next to their children at no extra cost, passengers will no longer lose the return leg of their journey if they miss the outbound flight, and airlines will have to include the cost of hand luggage in the ticket price. For Tzitzikostas, however, the biggest achievement is greater legal clarity. “So people know what they are entitled to and how they can obtain compensation.” The new rules are due to take effect next summer, giving airlines time to adapt.   Programme prepared by Perrine Desplats, Isabelle Romero, Loic Chalavon and Oihana Almandoz

The EU is trying to assert its strategic independence in an unstable world – a world of bullies, as some members of the EU Parliament describe it. That means independence in matters of defence and energy supplies, but also in the whole field of tech. The European Commission says non-EU companies provide more than 80 percent of the EU’s digital products and services. One of the key proposals aimed at changing that is the “Tech Sovereignty Package”, which was presented in early June. With our guests, we dive into the initiative, explain the geopolitical context and ask what it would take for the bloc to achieve real technological sovereignty.   Programme prepared by Isabelle Romero, Perrine Desplats and Oihana Almandoz

FRANCE 24’s Europe editor-in-chief Caroline de Camaret hosts Maia Sandu, the President of Moldova. This in the context of an EU-Moldova summit held on June 22, 2026, in Brussels. The ex-Soviet republic of nearly 3 million people that borders Ukraine has opened its first “cluster” of negotiations to join the European Union. But, as it moves closer to the bloc, Moldova is becoming an intense battleground between pro-EU and pro-Kremlin forces. This edition also features a report by FRANCE 24’s Isabelle Romero and Anaïs Chesnel, set in the inaugural conference on EU investment in Moldova.  On the country’s pro-EU path, Sandu tells Caroline de Camaret that, “despite the massive interference of the Kremlin in Moldova's elections, Moldovans managed to decide for themselves and they chose the EU as their future, because the EU means peace. And since Russia's invasion in Ukraine, we see Russia's aggression better. We understand the risks that are coming from Moscow. And the EU is known as the most successful peace project. The EU would also allow us to consolidate as a democracy, and it is very important for us to remain part of the free world. And of course, the EU is known as the family of countries which have managed to increase significantly the living standards of their populations.” Sandu adds a note of caution.  “We hope that the member states will recognise our effort, and that the merit-based process will lead us to EU accession,” she says. “We want full membership, but we are ready to discuss any proposals that do not replace the full membership and that do not delay the EU integration process.” On the economic situation, Sandu says that the war in Ukraine has “significantly affected the Moldovan economy.” Continuing, she explains: “Despite this hardship, we managed to implement significant reforms. We managed to eliminate completely our dependency on Russian gas. We invested a lot in renewables. Now, because of the war in Iran, the GDP forecast for this year is slower, but we hope to recover and we are compensating with reforms. Reforms in the justice sector, reforms in the business environment. Indeed, there is now this €1.9 billion growth plan supported by the European Union. And we do have opportunities. Energy continues to be one of the biggest opportunities for investors. The investment in infrastructure, big infrastructure projects, some of them co-financed by EU. The IT sector has been developing very rapidly in Moldova and represents an opportunity. Agro-processing, defence – these are all areas which might be very interesting to foreign investors.” On the breakaway region of Transnistria, Maia Sandu tells de Camaret that “Russia has provoked the war in 1992, and Russia has been supporting a separatist regime all these years. But now Russia has left the people in the Transnistrian region without heating and electricity, two winters ago. And this just proves that you can't rely on Russia. More and more people from the left Bank of Nistru, as you said, are coming for jobs. They are asking for more support from the rest of the country. And yes, we do believe that there might be an opportunity soon enough to reintegrate the country of Moldova.” Moldova speeds up its membership process to the EU: With Moldova having just opened the first chapter of negotiations with the European Union, its government, European representatives and businesses gathered in Chisinau for the first EU-Moldova investment conference. Its aim is to raise funds to help the economy grow and meet EU standards. These funds are conditional on domestic structural reforms including Moldova's commitment to fight against corruption. Nevertheless, the European future envisioned by Moldovan President Maia Sandu remains hampered by a hybrid war driven by Russian influence.  France 24's Isabelle Romero Reports.   Programme prepared by Isabelle Romero, Alix Le Bourdon, Perrine Desplats and Iris Pichon

EU leaders have cautiously welcomed Donald Trump's signing of an interim agreement with Iran, after nearly four months of war in the Middle East. But it is only a Memorandum of Understanding, and Europeans know the US president too well to celebrate prematurely. The conflict has led to the most severe disruption in energy supplies in decades, and the EU has scrambled to contain the costs. It's therefore an opportune moment to talk to the European Commissioner in charge of energy and housing, Dan Jorgensen, alongside a report on the issue from our correspondent Alix Le Bourdon. Jorgensen is a Danish social democrat, and he was previously minister of climate, energy and public utilities in the Danish government. We begin with the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the US and Iran, and what that means for the energy crisis in Europe. "We very much hope that this will lead to a lasting peace," Jorgensen remarks. "And at the same time we are obviously very aware that, if that happens, that's not the same as saying that we'll be back to normal from one day to the next. It will take months to rebuild what's been destroyed in the infrastructure giving us oil. It will take even longer in the gas infrastructure, probably years." Watch moreUS-Iran deal: Key questions remain over status of Strait of Hormuz On how the EU has weathered this energy storm overall, Jorgensen is cautiously upbeat. "I think there's a consensus that we are much better at dealing with a crisis like this than we were in 2022," he asserts. "Yes, we have had a price shock. Yes, it has hurt industry and citizens. But not as badly as it would have, had we not done the things that we've done since 2022, which is to deploy more renewables, become more energy efficient and diversify our supply chains. It's very clear that there's a consensus now that we really cannot risk getting into these situations again and again." Jorgensen goes on: "I do think that most member states realise that treating a crisis like this by subsidising fossils is like trying to treat a patient that has diabetes by giving the patient sugar. It will not solve any problems. So yes, I do have understanding towards those member states who had to do something in the short term. But we also do need to all agree that, in the future, what really will help us is becoming more energy efficient and deploying more renewables as fast as possible." But going beyond words, isn't it time for the EU to set a binding timetable for phasing out coal, oil and gas? "Well, we do actually have a pretty rigid system of different targets and objectives in the European Union," Jorgensen replies. "Some will even argue that it's too ambitious. I'm not on that team. But remember the Green Deal. It is not only still in place; we're actually now supplementing it with new targets. So the 2040 target with 90 percent reductions will mean that we will phase out these fossils fuels very fast, especially in our energy system. Now, is it going fast enough? I don't think so. But it is going quite fast. Let me give you a few numbers. Last year we deployed almost 90GW (gigawatts) of new renewables. 90GW. That's enough to supply 90 million homes with electricity. It's almost as much as the collected production of nuclear electricity. Solar is moving fast. Electric vehicles are booming right now in the sales. And we will also present a new electrification plan very soon." Programme prepared by Oihana Almandoz, Perrine Desplats and Isabelle Romero