Euranet Plus Panorama

Following further wrangling and compromise at a special meeting of the European Council earlier this week, EU leaders finally gave a thumbs-up to the bloc’s sixth package of sanctions against Moscow.
All this in the weekly Panorama of our European radio network!
Picture by EPNA, 2022

In our main story this week, Europe attempts to keep in step as warfare moves increasingly online. We also look at Bulgaria’s increasingly uncomfortable position as the main obstacle to North Macedonian accession talks, EU treaty reform, and how the already-fragile Brexit agreement is threatening to come apart at the seams.

At this week’s Euranet Plus summit, we welcome Commission executive vice-president Margrethe Vestager, whose mission it is to make Europe ‘fit for the digital age’. Our team of journalists across the EU grill her about Europe’s digital and technological prospects.

Welcome to Euranet Plus Panorama! Monday 9 May was Europe Day in many EU member states and Victory Day in others. It offered a moment of reflection for radio stations across the Euranet Plus network – and marked the beginning of the next phase in the Conference on the Future of Europe process.

Brussels throws the first punch in round six of the much-hyped EU vs Russia fight, our radio stations report. but neither side looks ready to throw in the towel. And some nations struggle to know how to approach the upcoming 9 May commemorations.

In our network's pan-European news this week: France and Slovenia went to the polls last weekend and the citizens of both nations threw their weight behind pro-European candidates. And in a shock move, Moscow has pulled the plug on gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria.

As refugees continue to pour out of Ukraine, member states are doing their utmost to meet their basic needs, including educating their children. And with various elections taking place across Europe this month, several member stations consider if the political tide is turning.

This week, journalists around our network of European radio stations share their take on the outcome of the recent Hungarian elections, as well as on what impact the conflict in Ukraine might have on the Western Balkans’ EU accession prospects.

On gas imports, as on many other things, it is proving challenging for member states to find consensus, reports our media network. How quickly can we realistically gain energy independence from Russia? Meanwhile, Spain and Portugal formalise their ‘energy island’ status.

In our network's "panorama" of EU news this week: European history dictates that national security has long been a priority area for all EU member states. But the conflict in Ukraine has only strengthened the case for some form of defence collaboration at European level.