We're back from our summer break! Rym Momtaz, the new editor-in-chief of the Strategic Europe blog, is here to catch us up on the main political developments we missed over the summer, from Ukraine to France. We're also talking about Sweden's suggestions for cutting kids' screen time, and a possible crackdown on outrageous concert ticket prices. 

This week, music and politics collide. We're talking about Greece's plan to enforce quotas for Greek-language lyrics on the radio, and the racist backlash against Aya Nakamura's rumoured booking for the Paris Olympics. Plus, a great interview with Politico's senior climate reporter Zia Weise about the EU's once-trumpeted nature restoration law. Can the EU still claim to be a world leader when it comes to going green?

It's easy to feel doomed when it comes to climate change. In her latest book, the Italian political scientist Nathalie Tocci makes the case for cautious optimism about Europe's climate and energy policies. We chat to her this week about the opportunities and challenges of the European Green Deal, as well as how to interpret the death last week of Silvio Berlusconi. We're also talking about a push to ban unpaid internships across the EU, and whether or not we should be blaming Beyoncé for stubbornly high inflation in Sweden.

This week is a bonanza for fans of Europe's two favourite competitions: the Champions League football tournament and the Eurovision Song Contest. Both are held up as events that bring Europeans together, but which one does the job better? This week we aim to settle the debate once and for all with a face-off between sports commentator Barbara Barend and Eurovision historian Dean Vuletic. We're also talking about a €300-million EU pension black hole and France's first rap awards.