Our journalists provide insights into the stakes of the upcoming European elections, covering issues ranging from defence to the green deal and migration pact.
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00:10 The rising cost of living is gonna be one of the big issues people care about
00:17 when they go to the ballot in June.
00:19 We did a poll of people across Europe and two thirds of them said
00:23 that tackling rising prices needs to be a priority for the EU.
00:27 You've got energy prices rising by 40%.
00:31 One in three Europeans have said they wouldn't be able to pay for
00:34 an unexpected bill.
00:35 They're really feeling the pinch.
00:37 So when the EU thinks about its energy policy, its climate change policy,
00:41 they're really gonna have to think about how that's going to
00:44 impact on people's pockets.
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00:50 >> Migration has been a massive topic for
00:53 the past decade, ever since the Lampedusa tragedy of 2013.
00:57 Now we finally do have a migration pact.
00:59 It took years to get to this starting point.
01:03 It's perfectly imperfect.
01:04 Nobody likes it.
01:05 For the left, it's too right.
01:07 For the right, it's too left.
01:08 But it's a starting point.
01:09 And of course, the next mandate will be very much occupied by looking into how
01:13 member states transpose that into law and how it works then on the ground.
01:18 We need migration.
01:19 We need managed migration.
01:21 Europe is getting very old, very fast.
01:24 And many would point out to the Ukrainian case that we can very much manage
01:29 asylum seekers, those who are in need of protection.
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01:36 >> Well, defense will be certainly one of those issues that will be front and
01:39 center of the mandate of the next commission and the next European parliament,
01:42 not least because of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
01:45 There's a realization this war will continue for the foreseeable future,
01:49 because for the last few months, Ukraine has been on the back foot militarily.
01:53 And of course, for the first time in many years,
01:55 there is a war on the European continent.
01:57 But there's also an acknowledgement that Ukraine may not be the only conflict the
02:01 world will be facing in the coming years.
02:03 And the EU and Europe feel that it needs to stand on its own two feet when it comes
02:07 to its defense and security and not always rely on the United States.
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02:15 >> They've set a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by the end
02:19 of this decade, which basically means it's got to be done during the mandate of
02:22 the incoming commission and parliament.
02:24 It's an enormous task, and
02:26 it's going to be made even bigger when they adopt a new climate target.
02:29 Going into the election, we have right-wing parties who are basically going on
02:33 a platform of supporting the farmers, putting a halt to all this Green Deal.
02:36 So yes, the momentum is definitely there.
02:40 Whether it continues after the election is another question.
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