Romania has been through so much since the fall of Ceausescu and Communism in 1989. It has now been an EU member for 12 years and has just held the EU presidency for the first time, but its people remain among the poorest in the bloc. In this programme we explore how corruption scandals have been shaking the government and why well over three million Romanians have left to build a future elsewhere. We find out what this means for them and for the country they left behind.

Europe now

Romania: Centre-stage in Europe, 30 years after Communism (part 1)

Romania has been through so much since the fall of Ceausescu and Communism in 1989. It has now been an EU member for 12 years and has just held the EU presidency for the first time, but its people remain among the poorest in the bloc. In part two of our show, we take a closer look at concerns that Romania is becoming the waste basket for Western Europe, as well as why so many French medical and veterinary students are headed to the country.

Romania: Centre-stage in Europe, 30 years after Communism (part 2)

It's a patchwork country at the heart of the patchwork continent that is Europe: a country of 11 million people, with three official languages, and the de facto capital of the EU. In this edition of Europe Now, we head to Belgium.

Belgium: Election season at the heart of Europe (part 2)

Belgium: Election season at the heart of Europe (part 1)

As new political winds blow in Italy, FRANCE 24’s Europe team looks beyond the stereotypes in the country of "la dolce vita". It's been almost a year since Italy's populist Five-Star Movement and far-right Lega (League) party joined forces to form a new government, ousting the centre-left Democrats.

Beyond 'la dolce vita': Italy's uneasy populist coalition (part 2)

Beyond 'la dolce vita': Italy's uneasy populist coalition (part 1)

Europe Now travels to Estonia this month, 27 years since the country emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union. Our European Affairs Editor, Catherine Nicholson meets former foreign minister-turned MEP Urmas Paet, plus filmmaker Ilmar Raag, to find out how Estonia has evolved in the past quarter century.

Estonia: Europe's frontier with Russia in the digital era, new party aims to imitate France's Macron (part 2)

It’s been 100 years since the Baltic states declared their independence – and 27 since they emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union. In Europe Now, FRANCE 24’s European Affairs Editor Catherine Nicholson takes us to the smallest of them. In Estonia, she meets President Kersti Kaljulaid who gives us her view on security threats from Russia, and tells us why she still has confidence in NATO, despite criticism and threats to the body from US President Donald Trump.

Estonia: Soviet history, Russian relations, defence frontlines & the cutting edge of digital (part 1)

In 2018, Hungary and Slovakia have both been under scrutiny over their behaviour as European member states. Both countries are facing European sanctions for refusing to participate in an EU quota system for re-distributing asylum seekers around the bloc. Slovakia has gone from a forgotten EU member state to front-page news after the murder of an investigative journalist, Jan Kuciak, who had been investigating links between the Italian mafia and individuals close to the former prime minister.

Slovakia rocked by murder of investigative journalist

The River Danube isn’t the only thing that links Hungary and Slovakia. Both countries share a common history – as part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, as members of the Cold-War era Eastern bloc, and since 2004, as members of the European Union. In 2018, Hungary and Slovakia have both been under scrutiny over their behaviour as European member states. Hungary has come under fire for what Brussels sees as pressure on democratic institutions, the judiciary, the independent press, and more.

Hungary under Viktor Orban

Barbed wire, checkpoints, abandoned buildings and military bases: all of these are common sights in Cyprus - a country that remains split in two, 44 years after the Turkish military invaded and occupied the north. In 2017, peace talks slated as the "best and last chance" by the United Nations, collapsed. Following President Anastasiades' re-election in February of this year, our team travelled to Cyprus to unpick the biggest issues that could help, or hinder, the path to peace.

Reunifying Cyprus: Hopes and fears, 44 years on (part 2)

Reunifying Cyprus: Hopes and fears, 44 years on (part 1)

It's the land of Dali, Gaudi, Pep Guardiola, tourism, industries, mountains, sea ports - and most recently, also very vocal and emotional separatist sentiment. Catalonia's regional election on Dec. 21 seems to have sparked as many questions as it gave answers: If 52 percent of the voters chose anti-independence parties, but the separatists won the biggest number of regional parliamentary seats, how can the region move forward?

To split or not to split? Where next for Spain and Catalonia? (Part 1)

To split or not to split? Where next for Spain and Catalonia? (Part 2)

For this episode of Europe Now, our Europe editor Catherine Nicholson digs deeper into the hot topics of the moment in the EU's two German-speaking member states.

Austria: Far right knocks on the doors of power (part 2)

We take you to the 28 EU member states for a series of exclusive reports and interviews with local MEPs. Produced in partnership with the European Parliament. Saturday at 12.10 pm.

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