♪ michelle: a very warm welcome to "fokus on europe." i'm michelle henery. one of the biggest topics in germany right now is the election. so we are taking a close look at democracy -- and just how fragile it can be. ♪ ♪ imagine you are a law abiding citizen, of legal age, who lives in a country that proudly boasts of its commitment to democracy -- yet, you are not allowed to vote. that is the case for julian peters, a 29-year-old man from the northwest of germany. he is one of over 80,000 people

denied this basic right because they are disabled. while many other european countries have lifted traditional restrictions, julian and his family wonder why germany has failed to do so. reporter: julian peters is taking a close look at the candidates' campaign posters. he takes an active interest in politics and the upcoming election. so who's that? julian: christian lindner. reporter: and what do you think of him? julian: he looks better now. he's wearing a dress shirt . reporter: 29-year-old julian also has opinions on the candidates' platforms, but because he has down syndrome and his parents have power of attorney, he's not allowed to vote. julian takes issue with that -- and he doesn't mind talking about it with those who have influence.

julian: herr schummer. reporter: who's that? julian: he's with the cdu. reporter: how does he feel about the fact he can't vote? julian: it's not okay. reporter: julian and his father have invited uwe schummer over to tell him that they think it's not fair that julian is denied the right to vote. schummer is campaigning for re-election in julian's constituency. ludger: i don't understand it. but people with disabilities are a minority, and they can't defend themselves, so that's how they get treated. reporter: ludger peters is not willing to accept the situation. just because he needs support with certain aspects of life, it doesn't mean he can't vote, he argues. the right to vote is enshrined in the german constitution, after all. but legal barriers prevent people like julian from taking part in elections. uwe: until recently we were hoping that with a bit of good will, there would be majority

support for a reform of voting rights, but in the end there wasn't enough support. reporter: the ruling coalition was unable to agree. some believe that people with disabilities are too easily influenced and are not able to properly research the issues at stake. to julian's father, this is sheer prejudice. ludger: he does the research. he never misses the 8:00 news. he always reminds us when it's about to start and says he wants to watch. he also has other ways of staying on top of the news. he loves political satire, for example. he really loves certain tv shows. i'm not sure if he understands it all, but that's not really any of my business. reporter: julian's exclusion from the vote is a breach of international law, and the u.n. convention on the rights of people with disabilities. it guarantees their participation in political life. julian feels this is exactly

what he's denied. he wants politicians across the spectrum to make this issue part of their platforms. julian: i'm not allowed to vote. did you know that? udo: i think we're lagging behind with this issue, because for too many years, politicians have failed to make it a priority. but that doesn't mean it's too late to do what we can to ensure people like julian are allowed vote. reporter: a number of families, including the peters, have taken their case to the constitutional court. they feel it's a sad reflection on german democracy that the court has to make a decision on a matter that politicians should have addressed. michelle: the german government has pledged to look into improving the law before. and so far, those promises have turned up empty. citizens are also fighting for

democracy in poland. activists, concerned about what they view as an erosion of crucial checks and balances in the country, have decided to camp out on parliament's doorstep in protest -- literally. since coming to power, critics say the conservative law and justice party has sought to undermine the years of democratic progress in a land widely considered a post-soviet success story. a small group of protestors are holding vigils in a camper van, right in the middle of warsaw. reporter: ujazdow avenue, early in the morning. on the right is the chancellery, seat of prime minister beata szydlo. on the left is a caravan. its occupant, marta michalska, is just getting up. as usual, she starts the day feeding the birds.

marta michalska lives in this small caravan as a form of protest. she's here to keep watch over democracy. marta: it's physically demanding. but someone has to do it. it's my duty, i have to do it. if i don't, who will? i also expect others to take action, others with a political conscience. reporter: it's stefan sterzycki's turn to take over. the caravan is always occupied. the campaigners are protesting the rightwing government's refusal to recognize the legitimacy of constitutional court rulings. when the court rejected a judicial reform pushed through by the ruling law and justice party, for example, prime minister szydlo simply failed to publish the ruling.

stefan: i'm not going to accept the destruction of democracy in this country. what's going on is unbelievable. two years ago, i wouldn't have thought it was possible. reporter: but not everyone supports the protestors' caravan campaign. stefan: we're harassed sometimes. cyclists spit at us when they ride by. it happens. but they're a minority. some people honk their horns. most people just don't react at all. reporter: they're horrified by what's happening in poland -- public media has become staunchly pro-government, the judiciary has been weakened, with checks and balances in jeopardy. if things continue like this, polish democracy won't survive. but constantly protesting takes its toll. marta could go home, but she doesn't. until recently, she was a housewife, looking after her daughter. now, she's a political activist

-- with a mission. her life's changed completely. marta: i'm no longer as timid as i once was. i used to be reserved. now, i'm surprised by how assertive i've become. reporter: every day at noon, the protesters perform the same ritual -- marta quotes the law. the message -- constitutional court rulings must be published. part of the ritual is to keep track of the number of days that this law's been ignored by prime minster beata szydlo. then, they hand out copies of the constitution. but it soon becomes clear that the issue surrounding the constitution and the constitutional court is complicated -- too complicated for some.

not all poles see the problem of their judiciary losing its independence. so sometimes, protesting can be a lonely business. jaroslaw: many are what you could call politically opportunistic. they all have their own lives, their own families. that's what they value most. that's understandable, but short-sighted. we want people to look to the future. reporter: the protesters put some effort into making their caravan cozier. now, it's like a home away from home. marta: we've gotten used to it. we already spent a spring, summer, autumn, and winter here. now, we're into the second year. we've weathered all seasons. so we know we can do it. reporter: at the outset, they'd vowed to keep protesting until the constitutional court rulings are published. back then, they hadn't expected their camping caravan would become a permanent fixture.

michelle: groningen, a province in the north of the netherlands, is home to one of europe's richest natural gas fields. the gas from the region brings in billions for the country -- but not without a cost. thousands of residents say their homes have been damaged by earthquakes brought on by the extraction of natural gas from shale rocks deep below the surface. they wonder, how could such a beautiful area, in such a wealthy country, be allowed to fall into ruin. reporter: hiltje zwarberg grew up here in area around groningen, close to the german border. setting off on a boat and enjoying nature from the water is something he never tires of. hiltje: this is my life. we were all born on the water and love boats. my father was a fisherman. it's like heaven on earth.

reporter: but the area is no longer as idyllic as it once was. once a dream, it's becoming a nightmare. since 2012, zwarberg explains, there have been regular earthquakes. they're brought on by natural gas production in the region. hiltje: that house is damaged. that one is damaged -- all the houses here. reporter: hiltje's been living in an apartment for two years now. his own house is surrounded by a fence, these days. hiltje: you can't really see the problem from the outside. but let's go in -- then you'll see what's happened. the problems are on this side. it's really bad over here. this used to be my bedroom. this wall is already separated from the outside wall.

and on this side, the wall has come away from this one. so the next time there's a quake, the entire ceiling will probably come down. and then this wall could fall inward. reporter: the natural gas company offered him just 8000 euros compensation. the cost for repairing the damage would probably be closer to a quarter million. that's what it would take for hiltje zwarberg's house to be safe enough to live in. what infuriates him most is that no one is taking action. hiltje: the natural gas producer is incredibly rich. they have huge legal departments that try to draw everything out as long as possible. i always say, they hang you on a little stick and wait for you to give up. that's how they do it. that's my impression. reporter: the object of hiltje's ire is a company called nam, a joint venture of the dutch state and the shell and exxon oil and gas multinationals. its spokesman explains that

natural gas has been extracted here since 1960. now, the ground is giving way. over the years, the gas has brought in 300 billion euros in revenues. but none of that money was put in reserve for potential damages. >> the groningen gas field has made the dutch state a lot of money over many decades. the money went into state coffers, but now it's been spent on infrastructure, public expenditures and the like. so it's been used to do a lot of good things for the people of the netherlands. reporter: good things for the netherlands, but groningen is left with a mass of problems. once beautiful houses have become uninhabitable. margreet kraak and her family now live in this container -- furnished by the natural gas company. they've had to trade their country estate for temporary quarters. margreet is furious that her

children have to grow up like this, and constantly worries that something even worse could happen. margreet: it goes on night and day. you wake up at night, because you hear a bang, and the bed starts to quiver. or during the day, you're sitting in the kitchen, you hear a noise, and everything starts to shake. reporter: the house has been in her family for six generations. now, it would take over a million euros to restore it. about 100,000 houses in the region have suffered damage. and nobody wants to buy them. margreet: until 2015, the cellar was always dry. but now, water's coming in. sometimes, it's 30 to 40 centimeters deep. and everything's covered in mold. reporter: there seems to be no solution for problem beneath the ground in groningen. but geologist peter van der gaag is helping people receive compensation more quickly. sometimes, he has to call in a

power shovel to be able to determine exactly what caused the ground to change -- as evidence to be used in court. peter: in some spots - like here and a bit farther on, the groundwater was up this high, and that wrecks the houses. especially after the bigger earthquakes, the earth resettles so much that ground water is pushed to the surface in some places. reporter: gas extraction has been scaled back, but the dutch authorities don't want to stop it entirely. hiltje zwarberg, his friends, family, and neighbors have no choice but to accept the situation. hiltje: we dutch really enjoyed the money the natural gas brought in. we were doing very well. it was in the billions. but we squandered it without considering problems we might have later.

today, the estimated damage is 20 billion euros to 24 billion euros, so far. but we no longer have the money to cover it. reporter: for hiltje zwarberg, the most frustrating part of all is that a prosperous country like the netherlands could behave so carelessly, leaving many of its citizens to live with ruins. michelle: imagine russian military maneuvers regularly taking place right outside your door. that's what people in the small villages along belarus's western border must contend with, and much to their dismay. people from the neighboring baltics and poland are worried that these exercises -- some of the biggest since the cold war -- may prove to be just a warm-up for an invasion and that these war games could become real. reporter: an ambush on a country road.

it may look real, but it isn't. it's part of a russian scenario, where western-sponsored separatists infiltrate neighboring belarus. it's part of the zapad-2017 strategic military exercises being held in the west of belarus. normally, this is a tranquil, rural area. for one week, it's occupied by foreign troops -- russian forces, here conducting war games in conjunction with belarusian troops. the border with nato member poland is just a few kilometers away. there, the exercise has only exacerbated fears that it could become a reality. nearly everyone in the belarusian border region has polish roots and adheres to the catholic faith. many here also worry that the joint exercises with the russians could be a prelude to war. among them is yelena. she and her husband recently

bought a house here close to the border. yelena: i'm against troops on our territory. why does russia have to hold its exercises right here near us and our western border? it's just inus.ded to intimidate reporter: yelena's neighbor franz won't criticize russia. he only has good things to say about the maneuvers. franz: we have to defend our homes. nato is very close here. of course we have to conduct these exercises. i'm for it. reporter: but for josefina, the troops bring back traumatic memories of the second world war -- even if they're only exercising. josefina: i don't want it. i'm against it. reporter: also against it are

hundreds of critics of the belarusian government. they've taken their protest to the streets of the capital minsk. they want no russian military presence here. belarus had taken a few steps toward opening to the west. now they see this as a giant step backwards. vladimir: we're not protesting against russia here, nor against the russians. we're protesting against our government. its irresponsible policies are dragging us into a military conflict and endangering our future. reporter: the russian defense ministry disagrees, saying zapad-2017 is an exercise by two allies in the interests of the security of both countries.

alexander: this exercise is absolutely peaceful, and it's defensive in nature. we're not planning any intrusion into neighboring countries. reporter: experts take a different view. the current war games remind many of russia's last major exercises -- in 2014 on the frontier with ukraine. they ended with russia's unrecognized annexation of crimea. alexander golz: the crisis in ukraine began in february three years ago. back then, russia stationed its troops on the ukrainian border under the pretext of military exercises. bearing this precedent in mind, you can understand the anxiety felt by the neighboring countries that history could repeat itself. reporter: in 2014, hardly anyone thought it was possible for russia to annex crimea against international law. now, russia's western neighbors have cause for worry.

fears of war are growing, especially when tanks roll up, and soldiers practice close combat. josefina and her neighbors on the polish border are watching and waiting for the troops to withdraw, and hoping the war games never again turn into real war. michelle: did you know that the french fry is in fact not french, but rather belgian in origin? belgian fry doesn't quite roll off the tongue the same way, but they are delicious. one reason for this is the country's unique double fry method -- rendering the spuds crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. but this beloved dish is now being threatened by european union laws on food. the rest of europe often complains about bureaucracy coming out of brussels, but now

it seems, bitterness is being tasted closer to home. reporter: this summer, brussels was the site of an unusually delectable political drama. at its center -- belgian frites. unlike similar tasty treats made elsewhere, here, they are lovingly bathed in lots of oil -- twice. pascal: first, you've got to deep-fry -- or poach -- the chips in hot oil. that ensures they stay soft inside. then they're fried again to a lovely golden color. the amount of time depends on the type of potato, on its sugar and starch content. you need an eye for that. it's a skill. reporter: you can sense when they're done? pascal: oh yes, in belgium, we can tell when they're ready. reporter: so understandably, belgian fry aficionados weren't pleased when the eu commission proposed new guidelines on how the snack should be prepared. and to add insult to injury, the

report called them french fries rather than frites. pages of recommendations regarding crispiness, sugar content, and ph-value. a change in processing procedure actually began in the early 1970's, when a german fry manufacturer used a machine to cut up the potatoes, which were then blanched -- that is, briefly plunged into boiling water. the result -- the chips absorbed less oil. but they also tasted a little bland. artificial flavoring took care of that problem, but that's another story. then in 2002, acrylamide was discovered in food. believed to be carcinogenic, it forms in the frying process when certain foods are heated to a temperature greater than 120 degrees celsius. but belgians know what they are doing and don't need any eu regulations, according to flemish tourism minister ben weyts. in a letter to the european commissioner, weyts complains of

exaggerated health-consciousness. he thinks it's inappropriate to ban a culinary tradition. he wants to preserve "pommes frites" culture. his letter prompted headlines around the world. and soon enough, germans, then brits, and even australians turned their attention to the endangered chip. but the excitement and outrage died down once the eu commission started to back-pedal. margaritis: the european commission does not intend -- i stress, does not intend to ban belgian frites or any other fries. reporter: and it can't hurt that the belgian national dish has at least one high-powered european politician on its side -- angela

merkel, annoyed by brexit talks, shook off some of her frustration at a nearby frietkot in brussels a while back. merkel got her tasty treat at maison antoine. it's currently being expanded, but customers can still get a fix from a nearby food truck in the interim. made just they way they like them. and so, belgians can continue to enjoy their favorite snack -- browned, but not burnt. although there's now just a slight aftertaste brought about by the eu trying to make their lives miserable. michelle: if you ever get a chance to taste a belgian frite, preferably covered in mayonnaise, no other version will ever come close again. that's it for today. thank you for watching. see you next time. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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