Inside Europe 21 March 2024

The EU’s Asylum and Migration Pact is passed, Germany defends itself at the ICJ (extended interview here: http://dw.com/p/4efgf), Slovakia gets a new president, plus a sporting summit and a foretaste of Olympic tensions. Also on the show: unexpected bids for power shake things up in both Hungary and Croatia, and the pick of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. ?maca=en-podcast_inside-europe-949-xml-mrss

The electoral tide turns on Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, taking stock of NATO at 75, the war in Gaza casts a cloud over the Eurovision Song Contest and why Czechs spent Wednesday taking it easy. Also: a special focus on farmers and mental health.

Will Putin use the Moscow attack to further tighten his grip? Could a pro-western candidate win Slovakia's presidential election? And the refugee crisis in Europe that no one is talking about. Also: A secret recording hints at more corruption in Hungary's government, is it 'Time's up' for Spain's late-night bar culture? and 100-year-old Dutch prisons are remodeled for the 21st century.

Ukrainian drones strike Russian oil refineries, Ireland’s Taoiseach Leo Varadkar resigns, and the World Happiness Index reveals the opposite for young people in Western Europe. Also: an environment-themed second half featuring: a vision for a post fossil-fuel Ukraine, hydro plans threaten Scotland’s Loch Ness, Montpellier’s free public transport and the UK Climate Choir movement strikes a chord.

The first (but not last!) elections special of this elections bumper-year, covering the rise of Portugal’s far-right Chega party. The Russian presidential elections and what’s NOT on the ballot. The battle for Belgrade is on again and how Erdogan hopes to retake Istanbul. All that, plus the alarming incidence of food poverty in the UK and Olympic preparations in Paris’ urban melting-pot.

An International Women's Day Special, featuring the voices of Russian opposition figurehead Yulia Navalnaya, female NATO recruits as they take to the skies, and a French abortion activist celebrating a constitutional victory. Also in the show: pioneering business anchor Karen Tso, the only female watchmaker in Bosnia, Spanish football players and Estonia's Smoke Sauna Sisterhood.

NATO membership and the shift in the Swedish psyche, Russian fishing vessels in Norwegian ports, and refugee-led mental health interventions in Prague. Also: quantifying extremism in Germany's AfD, enshrining abortion in the French constitution, dealing with the aftermath of ISIS terror in Turkey and bringing refugee children and their peers together through music.

On the 2nd anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we look at the security and funding situation and talk to DW’s Kyiv correspondent, Nick Connolly. Also: The delicate issue of Norway’s relationship with Russia, how Russia is using cryptocurrency to by-pass international sanctions, and we meet Mstyslav Chernov, director of the BAFTA award winning documentary, 20 Days in Mariupol.

Hungary resignations - the pedophile scandal that toppled a president. Green giggles - French ecologically conscious comedy. Memorial politics - what to do about Bulgaria’s communist era monuments? All that, plus a deep-dive into the controversial world of homeopathy in the company of DW's Don't Drink The Milk team.

Dutch coalition talks break down leaving Wilders in limbo, Northern Ireland gets its first Republican first minister and the death knoll for gas-guzzling cars in Paris. Also: Kosovo's new currency rule irritates minority Serbs, we visit Turkey's Hatay a year after the earthquakes, southern Estonia begins its culture capital year and a trip to the magical dragon festival in the Bavarian forest.