Brussels, my love? What was there to be merry about in 2024?

In our last broadcast of 2024 that we recorded in the European Parliament studios in Strasbourg, we are joined by the Austrian Liberal MEP Anna Stürgkh, the Dutch conservative MEP Sander Smit and the Spanish Socialist MEP Hana Jalloul Muro.

The panel reflect one a year that was dominated by elections and that saw former and future US President Donald Trump be named 'person of the year' by Time magazine. Scientists also warned that 2024 was the hottest year on record and that average temperatures exceeded 1.5 degrees. Anna Stürgkh did not hide her fear.

"If I look at my own country in Austria, where we're losing forests, losing soil that we can't work on anymore, that we're losing crops every year because of climate change", she said stressing the need to save the EU green deal and preserve the ambitious goal to make Europe the first ever climate-neutral continent. The EU even has legally binding targets in order to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. But Sander Smit said that it was the year of 'climate realism'.

"We see that the competitiveness of the European economy is also threatened by some excessive elements within this Green Deal which have to be corrected", he said.

MEPs also reflected on a recent study that revealed MEPS are earning over 6 million euro per year in side jobs and some are conflicting with their political interests.

Anna Stürgkh said MEPs needed to be stricter on themeslves.

"I mean, we're so strict on everyone else, then we have to be even stricter on ourselves", she said.

Watch our final edition of 'Brussels, my love?' in the video player above.

Wishing all our viewers a lovely festive season. See you in 2025!