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Residents cooled off in the Canal de Saint-Martin in Paris and EU officials sunbathed in the park as Western Europe baked in the sun this week.
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But in Eastern Europe, May has seen a wave of drones intruding into Baltic airspace, raising questions about Europe’s security and the hybrid threat posed by Russia.
To discuss these topics, Euronews’ weekly podcast Brussels, My Love? sat down with Ionela Maria Ciolan, security expert at the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, Angela Skujins, Euronews defence correspondent and Jeremy Wilks, Euronews science correspondent.
Early heatwaves spell climate trouble
In the last few days, Western European countries have been affected by a heat dome. Temperatures reached 35°C near London and could hit 39°C in some areas of France.
While this may be welcome for those lacking vitamin D, the heatwave is also indicative of a broader issue: climate change.
“The reality is bad, and it’s not going to get any better anytime soon,” Jeremy Wilks told Euronews, pointing out that although cities like Barcelona and Paris have adopted some solutions to cope with the heat, such as restricting cars from some areas and providing shelters from extreme hot, these are not sustainable solutions.
“We need to be very serious and spend an awful amount of money on it,” he said.
Wilks also underlined that the heatwave will have critical consequences for food and agriculture, with eggs becoming more fragile, animals weaker, and fruits smaller.
Drone incursions rattle Baltics
Meanwhile, recent drone incursions into EU airspace have alarmed Baltic residents and European leaders. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen went to Lithuania on Tuesday to show her support.
“This shouldn’t really come as a surprise, but what is interesting is how Russia is exploiting these incursions for its own benefits through sowing chaos within communities as well as trying to destabilise the governments that are supporting Ukraine,” Euronews’ Skujins explained.
According to Ciolan the events of recent weeks are not exceptional, but rather a new status quo.
“We are seeing an increase of the hybrid attacks in that specific region, not only when it comes to these drone swarms, but also when it comes to cutting pipelines, damaging internet cables, misinformation and disinformation campaigns,” she said.
Ciolan also underlined how these attacks aim to put psychological pressure on the residents of Baltic countries, with the objective of undermining their support for Ukraine.
This podcast was recorded just before a drone struck an apartment building in Romania and exploded, injuring two people, after Russia launched an attack on a nearby Ukrainian port.
Listen to the podcast in the player above or wherever you get your podcasts.
Additional sources • Georgios Leivaditis, sound editing and mixing.
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