Briefed - Your Daily European Podcast

In this episode, host Alexander Damiano Ricci and editor Maria Dios look back at the production of Europe Talks Back episodes in 2022. They revisit some topics deal with in the past 20 episodes, and provide updates on some of the most meaningful stories. Europe Talks Back goes on a break until the week of January 16, 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar has been making the headlines for weeks now. Just, not really or only for the rolling ball and iconic football stars on the pitch. From allegations of corruption in the process leading up to the awarding of the competition, to accusations of breaches of human rights in the build up of the stadiums hosting the competition: little has been left uncovered by the press...

Brexit has made the headlines of the European and British press for years. However, today, the relationship between the UK and the EU is less of a central topic in public debates. Nevertheless, many European citizens’ lives have been heavily affected by Brexit. This is mostly due to the lengthy and intricate process for obtaining the UK settlement status. In particular, anecdotal ev...

According to Eurostat, 229 million women live in the EU. That’s 4.6% more than men. However, fewer women make it to the top of society.  When it comes to decision-making and board levels, women are under-represented. As the Gender Diversity Index shows, there are only 7% of female CEOs and just 35% of women on boards in EU top companies. On the 22nd of November, ten years later...

Spain is one of the healthiest countries in the European Union. It has the longest life expectancy, and its public healthcare service is worldwide recognised. However, the population of its capital region, Madrid, has been suffering from a shortage of medical staff over the past few years. Despite being the region with the highest income per capita, Madrid is also the one that spend...

On May 9, 2018, as many European citizens were celebrating Europe Day, the dead body of a young black woman was found in the French river of Durance, not far away from the Franco Italian border. It was the body of Blessing Matthew, a Nigerian girl in her early twenties. As many other people from Africa, Blessing crossed the Mediterranean Sea aiming for a better life in Europe. But she encountered...

In October this year, the social media giant META, took down a Russian network of social media accounts spreading disinformation on the War on Ukraine.  META says it is the largest network of its kind, the company disrupted since the war in Ukraine began. More specifically, identified social media accounts were sharing false information by relaunching fake articles published on 60 websit...

Eurofound, the EU agency providing knowledge to assist in the development of better social, employment and work-related policies, released the results of an EU wide survey on the living conditions of European citizens during COVID19. Among many results, the study shows that when social media is the preferred news source of people trust in institutions plummets. Meanwhile, in the Austrian city...

Requesting an abortion in Europe is legal in most countries. Yet, even if ending a pregnancy is not banned, accessing this right is not always guaranteed.  While the pro-life narratives spread all over Europe, far-right governments tighten abortion rules. Hungary is the latest example. In this country, from September 15, women can request an abortion only if they listen to the...

In the Summer of 2020, mass protests shook Bulgaria: citizens were calling for a stop to endless corruption. And a change in the political system. Since the protests of 2020, four Parliamentary elections have been held in the country, the latest of which took place in October this year. However, following any of these elections, no party-negotiations were able to grant a stable government to...

The War on Ukraine has provoked rising inflation across Europe. For many people, this implied: rising costs to heat homes, buy food, pay for services.   It’s what economists and journalists define “a Cost of living crisis”. These days, nowhere across Europe, the cost of living crisis appears to be as strong as in Ireland. That’s why, recently, the current Irish government, led...

Over the past few months and years, across Europe, far-right parties have gained electoral support. From recent elections in Italy and Sweden, to France, Germany, Spain, Poland or Hungary: a conservative wind appears to blow over the Old Continent. One narrative all these far-right political forces have in common is a return to traditional gender norms. But why are these narratives so su...

After a hectic electoral campaign running over the Summer, this weekend, Italian citizens are called to the ballot boxes to elect a new Parliament. Pundits see the far-right party, Brothers of Italy, leading the contest. And a new leadership is rising: the one of Giorgia Meloni. Should Brothers of Italy obtain most of the votes, it is likely that Giorgia Meloni will try to form a coalition go...

On September 13, 2022, Serbian authorities banned the iconic EuroPride march, which was supposed to take place next Saturday in the country’s capital, Belgrade. The march would have been the culmination of EuroPride week, the leading yearly event in Europe, through which the LGBTQI+ community gathers and voices its demand for stronger rights and equality. The announcement of the ban came after tha...

Trigger warning: Rape Sex without consent is rape. Yet, according to the NGO, Amnesty International, in Europe, only 13 countries, feature laws, that define rape, in terms of the absence of consent. The latest country adopting such as a definition of rape is Spain, where, on the 25th of August 2022, the national Congress approved the so-called  “Only yes Means Yes Law”. The journey for the ap...

In the past months, teachers in Hungary have been on strike, protesting against a public educational system which, as they say, risks collapse. What teachers complain about is low pay and deteriorating working conditions: the number of working hours for Hungarian teachers is very high while their salaries are among the lowest in the EU. Staff shortage is also an escalating problem in the coun...

The Netherlands is one of the top data center markets in Europe, hosting approximately 200 facilities such as Google and Microsoft hyperscale data centers which exceed 5,000 servers and 3,000 square kilometres. The development of new projects has spurred debate and protests in the country, with local communities opposing the building of such centers, denouncing their effect on the landscape and en...

The housing crisis in Lisbon is caused by one of the worst cases of rapid, violent gentrification. Lured by programs to attract foreign investment, new real estate developments and tourist accommodations have multiplied throughout the city. A third of houses in Lisbon’s historical center are listed on websites for short-term rental services such as Airbnb. Over the past twenty years, Lisbon has be...

As Europe is seeing intense and unprecedented heatwaves, with temperatures spiking above 40 degrees, huge wildfires are raging across several countries in the region. Thousands of hectares of land were destroyed, and people had been evacuated from towns threatened by flames. In some areas droughts are making it hard to control the fires. Italy is one of the most affected countries, together with S...

During the month of June, Mary Lawlor, the UN Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, went on a 10-day long mission to Greece. At the end of her mission, in a preliminary observations and recommendation document, Lawlor wrote being “concerned about the increasing criminalization of humanitarian assistance in Greece”. Lawlor also came to understand that the nature of cooperation between the Governmen...

Over the past few weeks, Dutch farmers have been taking to the streets of their country. They are in revolt against their government's plan to reduce the emissions of nitrogen oxide and ammonia by cutting the country's livestock by 30%. Farmers claim the government acted top-down on them, imposing targets that are poorly conceived and unfair. On some occasions, the protest turned violent, featurin...