Europe, Day by Day

Welcome to Europe Day by Day, a 5-minute podcast series that takes you through the daily trends and events shaping Europe’s politics, society and culture at 6 PM. A series hosted by Emma Belmonte.

Episodes

September 30, 2024
In this second part of a special two episode closure to the first season of Europe, Day by Day, executive producer Alexander Damiano Ricci hosts Emma...
September 30, 2024
In this first part of a special two episode closure to the first season of Europe, Day by Day, executive producer Alexander Damiano Ricci hosts Emma...
September 29, 2024
Italy saw some major mobilisations this week, all pushing back against government policies. One was a campaign to collect signatures calling for a referendum to cut...
September 27, 2024
Centuries of European slavery and colonialism are still fueling  poverty, wage disparities, and unequal access to public services for racialised communities across the continent. These are...
September 26, 2024
This week, the Estonian Trade Union Confederation and the Estonian Employers’ Confederation sat down  for the first time to discuss next year’s minimum wage.  Meanwhile, starting...
September 25, 2024
Italians have been rallying behind a petition to push for a referendum that would cut in half the time foreign nationals need to live in Italy...
September 24, 2024
Finally! Montenegro’s government can once again communicate with its citizens online. Back in August 2022, the country’s open data portal had suffered a major cyberattack that...
September 23, 2024
Ireland’s air quality might be in serious trouble, falling short of the World Health Organisations’ strict pollution targets set for 2026. That’s according to a recent...
September 22, 2024
“I wish you were here” — a sentiment that didn’t ring true for many locals in Europe this summer. Instead, what echoed through the streets, in...
September 20, 2024
Burned vehicles, gutted buildings including a destroyed McDonalds… This is what the streets looked like this week in Martinique, a French overseas department of the Caribbean,...
September 19, 2024
A vote of the EU’s Trade Defense Instruments Committee scheduled next week was expected to once and for all impose significant tariffs on Chinese imports of...
September 18, 2024
Amid campaigning for the upcoming regional elections in the Czech Republic, a billboard in Prague sparked outrage and triggered lawsuits. The poster and its anti-immigration slogan,...
September 17, 2024
 New leaks reveal that the European Commission is preparing a ban on smoking in some outdoor public spaces, including cafe terraces and bus stops. A ban...
September 16, 2024
A stark warning came this weekend from a leading economics think tank at the informal meeting of EU economic and financial affairs ministers in Budapest. The...
September 15, 2024
The European Court of Justice recently delivered two major rulings against Apple and Google. Apple was fined for corporate tax avoidance, while Google faced penalties for...
September 13, 2024
The Swedish appeal court made the news this week by sentencing a Former Swedbank chief executive to 15 months in prison on charges of fraud and...
September 12, 2024
The newly elected Labour government is facing a crisis in the prisons system, and forced to release thousands of prisoners early from rapidly overflowing jails. Could...
September 11, 2024
September marks the return to school for most kids, but not for 126 children with special needs in Ireland who remain without a school place this...
September 10, 2024
Taxes on everyday Europeans bring in 13 times more revenue than taxes on wealth. That’s according to a new Oxfam analysis published this week, which reveals...
September 9, 2024
On Saturday, Belgrade witnessed its largest-ever pride march as thousands filled the streets waving rainbow flags, asking for change. A pride flag was even hung from...
September 8, 2024
Another summer is over—another season marked by extreme weather events that remind us of the harsh reality of climate change. However, there were also signs of progress...
September 6, 2024
With mass arrests of dissenting voices. An army accused of ethnic cleansing. And a President who calls his country’s gas reserves a ‘gift from God’, what on...
September 5, 2024
After a rapid push through the EU accession process over the last two years, Moldova is now facing quite a conundrum. According to Balkan Insight, the country’s...
September 4, 2024
The sky over Athens turned orange last month, an apocalyptic sight for the residents of the Greek capital who saw wildfire flames at the city’s doorstep...
September 3, 2024
As students re-enter their classrooms after the summer break, many will be doing so without their mobile phones in hand. Across Europe, an increasing number of...
September 2, 2024
Yesterday, citizens of the German state of Thuringia took to the polls for their state elections. The far-right AfD party came out on top with 32%...
August 30, 2024
A recent study revealed that only 29% of Italians drink tap water every day – and that nearly half drink exclusively bottled water. In fact, Italy...
August 29, 2024
He had big shoes to fill – that’s what everyone thought and said when German chancellor Olaf Scholtz succeeded Angela Merkel back in December 2021. But...
August 28, 2024
In May this year, Chinese President Xi Jin Ping’s visited Belgrade. Xi Jin Ping was warmly welcomed by the Serbian president Aleksander Vucic. The latter illustrated...
August 27, 2024
With war raging in Gaza, in November 2023, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Joseph Borrell called for a...
August 26, 2024
On the 1st of April of this year, Romania and Bulgaria partially joined the free travel zone of Schengen. But why “partially”? And what will be...
August 23, 2024
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the 24th of February 2022, many Europeans took the streets of their cities in support of Kiev. Two years and...
August 22, 2024
Eversince the 2015 so-called “refugee crisis”, asylum and migration have become existential questions for the EU. On the 10th of April of this year, the Parliament...
August 21, 2024
Back in January of this year, the European Parliament expressed concerns about the rule of law in Slovakia. But why was that? Europe, Day by Day...
August 20, 2024
In May, Tbilisi was shaken by protests against the adoption of a contested ‘Foreign influence bill’. Today, we share insights from whom took part in those...
August 19, 2024
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the 24th of February 2022, many Europeans took the streets of their cities in support of Kiev. Two years and...
August 16, 2024
Fifty years ago, the Carnation Revolution ended the Salazar dictatorship in Portugal. Until recently, the country seemed immune to the return of right wing extremism unlike...
August 15, 2024
Last week marked the end of the Olympics in Paris, but what do we know about the organisation of the games by the French capital? Europe,...
August 14, 2024
On the 18th of July, newly elected Labour Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, had to play host at the European Political Community summit in Blenheim Palace- where...
August 12, 2024
Favouring trade with the rest of the world has ever since been a priority for the EU. But which free trade agreements have been on the...
August 9, 2024
This year marked the 100th anniversary of the death of Franz Kafka. Events across Europe celebrated the writer of The Metamorphosis, The Trial, and The Castle...
August 8, 2024
Back in May, the EU Council finally approved the EU AI act. So, what is this pioneering act all about? And what does the European Digital...
August 7, 2024
Often overlooked by mainstream media elsewhere in Europe, Baltic countries have undergone significant change over the past months. So, what happened in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia...
August 6, 2024
In the Spring of this year, Chinese President Xi Jinping made a visit to three European countries: France, Serbia, and Hungary. The itinerary was largely qualified...
August 5, 2024
Often overlooked by mainstream media elsewhere in Europe, Scandinavian countries have undergone significant change over the past months. So, what happened in Scandinavia this year? Europe,...
August 3, 2024
Alarm bells are ringing across Europe – with concerns running high regarding the status of the rule of law in several member states. Governments gaining uncontrollable...
August 2, 2024
We look back at this Summer’s European football championship which took place in Germany. While the whole of Europe was watching the ball rolling, politics sometimes...
August 1, 2024
The European Green Deal was adopted back in 2020 by the European Parliament. But this year, this milestone piece of European legislation went through quite a...
July 31, 2024
Olive oil fraud cases in the EU have hit an official record high this year. So, what’s happening to our beloved kitchen staple? And why is...
July 30, 2024
Today is a busy day for Spain’s judicial system. Whilst the 20 members of the General Council of the Judiciary in charge of appointing Spain’s judges...
July 29, 2024
Brussels to Vienna, Paris to Barcelona, Berlin to Warsaw – whatever the journey, flying is often the simpler option – especially compared to taking the train....
July 28, 2024
The dehumanisation of migrants, instrumentalisation of reproductive rights and women’s rights, rising homophobia, transphobia and hate speech… These are some of the ramifications of the far-right’s...
July 26, 2024
Today marks the opening ceremony of the long-awaited Olympic games in Paris. But yesterday evening the official celebration was preceded by a contre-soirée event in the Place...
July 25, 2024
The electric car – the expensive must-have of the new green citizen. But is it really? To function, an electric vehicle’s battery requires lithium a rare...
July 24, 2024
Raids, interrogations, arrests and record prison sentences. These are the increasingly heavy handed tactics used against environmental campaigners across Europe. But meanwhile, traffic disruption, border blockades...
July 23, 2024
Armenia made headlines this week as Brussels announced talks on visa liberalisation, marking a significant but cautious step towards EU membership. The Armenian foreign minister hailed the...
July 22, 2024
Sveti Stefan, a stunning islet off the western coast of Montenegro, also known as the “pearl” of Montenegro, is one of the country’s most beautiful cultural...
July 21, 2024
Can the French left alliance get themselves together and finally form a government, can migrants in the EU ever catch a break, and why is the...
July 19, 2024
As the EU top jobs begin to get filled, what kind of Europe will emerge? Depending on who you ask, the re-election of Ursula von der Leyen...
July 18, 2024
Published yesterday, the KidsRights Foundation published its annual ranking which measures how far children’s rights are safeguarded across the world. Out of the ten highest-scoring countries,...
July 17, 2024
Euphoria swept through Georgia last December when the country was officially recognised as an EU member candidate – something Georgians overwhelmingly longed for. But this enthusiasm...
July 16, 2024
35 years after Italy shut down its last nuclear power plant, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni plans to bring back nuclear reactors to help lower the country’s carbon emissions...
July 15, 2024
“I’m supposed to be dead”. These were the words of former US president Donald Trump after an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday...
July 14, 2024
What political weeks these have been: snap general elections in France, another snap general election in the UK, the top job at the EU institutions up...
July 12, 2024
More than thirty asylum seekers have been stranded in the buffer zone that divides Cyprus. They can’t go back, and the government won’t let them in....
July 11, 2024
‘Remember Srebrenica’. You can find these two words tagged on walls in different cities across Bosnia Herzegovina, accompanied by a number: 8 732 ; the number...
July 10, 2024
Legally speaking, Croatian women have the right to get an abortion. But why do so many cross the border to Slovenia to find the medical care...
July 9, 2024
As visitors enjoyed their meals in Las Ramblas, one of the most touristy areas in Barcelona, they were sprayed with water pistols by locals who were...
July 8, 2024
As pundits and polls predicted the far-right National Rally would become the first party in the French Assembly, the second round of the legislative elections yielded...
July 5, 2024
The Greek government has just announced that starting next week, some private sector industries will move to a 48-hour work-week, – meaning a 6-day work-week! This...
July 4, 2024
This week, the King of the Netherlands Willem-Alexander swore in Dick Schoof as PM along with his newly formed cabinet while civilians protested outside the palace...
July 3, 2024
Even the ruling Conservative Party have started conceding defeat a day before the UK general election in which the Labour Party are widely predicted to win....
July 2, 2024
That’s the slogan of the Hungarian government for their presidency of the Council of the European Union, which they take over this week. As one of...
July 1, 2024
Since May, pro-independence protests have rocked France’s overseas territory of New Caledonia. With a storied history of resistance and activism, the indigenous Kanak people are fighting...
June 28, 2024
Who watches the watchmen? This question about the abuse of power, dating back to Roman times, is relevant today after fresh allegations of rights violations by...
June 27, 2024
With presidential, referendum, and European and parliamentary elections, 2024 is a busy political year for Lithuanians. Yet, the debate mainly focuses on Russia rather than domestic...
June 26, 2024
Malta’s GDP is booming, surpassing the EU average, yet Maltese households find their purchasing power lower than pre-pandemic levels. Why is this happening, and what does...
June 25, 2024
Central London erupted over the weekend as tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets to call for climate and nature action to be prioritised...
June 24, 2024
Thousands of French feminists took to the streets last weekend to protest the “feminist facade” of Le Pen’s National Rally. In recent years, Le Pen and...
June 21, 2024
Give the EU back one billion euros. That’s the demand from the European Anti-Fraud Agency. The amount is misused taxpayer money the agency, also known as OLAF, says...
June 20, 2024
As Europe confronts war in Ukraine, its Mediterranean border is looking increasingly fragile as Lebanese militant group Hezbollah threatens Cyprus over its role in the wider...
June 19, 2024
In Finland, a shocking number of municipal housing units are vacant — some for over a year. All the while, approximately 10’ooo applicants wait to hear...
June 18, 2024
A new report released by the the German Reporting and Information Centre on Anti-Roma sentiment, or MIA, shows that discrimination against Roma people is on the...
June 17, 2024
Over the past year, Irish libraries have been faced with far-right protests at their doorsteps. One of the reasons they are being targeted is for holding...

Other Podcasts

Thirty-eight places worse than in 2021 and last in the ranking of EU countries, press freedom in Greece is undoubtedly in free fall. According to the annual report of Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF), in a total of 180 countries, the country referred to internationally as the matrix of democracy has plummeted in just one year from 70th to 108th place in 2022. In the following six episodes, Greek journalists Konstantinos Poulis and Jenny Tsiropoulou will take us inside newsrooms to see the working conditions in the media, investigate the unsolved murder of a journalist at the door of his house, talk to journalists-victims of SLAPPS and journalists-victims of phone tapping, and they will talk to us about a completely opaque process of public funding to find out what the 108th place means in practice and to ask who benefits from journalism that is feared and silenced. We would like you to know that the present government has systematically failed to respond to requests from journalists from unfriendly media. In such cases, we report on it in our editorials. #108 is a co-production between the Greek independent media The Press Project and the podcast production agency Bulle Media. The podcast series is part of the Europod podcast network and was produced under the Sphera project. The original language of this podcast is Greek. There is also available an English version. The producer of 108 is Antoine Lheureux. Executive producers are Konstantinos Poulis and Alexander Damiano Ricci. Scriptwriting is by Jenny Tsiropoulou. Interviews by Jenny Tsiropoulou and Konstantinos Poulis. Editorial work by María Dios and Alexander Damiano Ricci. Sound design by Thomas Kusberg. Editing and mixing by Thomas Kusberg and Jeremy Bocquet.
Artificial intelligence is all around us. It has technological applications that save lives, but it can also affect them in ways we all too often ignore. It has created jobs that did not exist, but it also raises fears for the future of employment. Today, artificial intelligence can be used to make anything: a start-up, a cyberwar and even a work of art. This podcast is all about the A.I. revolution, amidst market bubbles, problems that the European Union is trying to correct, potential and dystopian scenarios, because algorithms replicate the distortions of the society that conceived them.