michelle: a very warm welcome to "fokus on europe." i'm michelle henery. glad you could join us. years into the european debt crisis, things may finally be looking up for greece. the economy seems to be making some strides toward recovery, albeit slowly. that is the good news. but the bad news? much of the country hasn't noticed. 1/3 of greeks are at risk of poverty. and retirees are feeling it most. some are losing their homes because they cannot live on their incomes. their pensions are meager because there's too little money in the state coffers. too many people avoid paying taxes, which results in a loss of more than 10 billion euros in taxes a year.

to change that, the government has sent out an army of tax inspectors to shake things up by visiting businesses unannounced. our reporter oliver sallet went along with two of them. reporter: when night falls in athens, tina papoiti and nikos tsepenekos start their patrol through the amusement district of plaka. the two inspectors are on the lookout for tax dodgers. their suspicions are aroused in this cocktail bar. >> there are no bills on the tables. reporter: it looks as if the owner is selling his drinks off the books. >> good evening. we are tax fraud inspectors. could you please give me a bill for ten cents? reporter: each bill lists how many receipts were issued that day, an important clue for the inspectors. many guests don't ask for a bill.

and with vat at 24%, the temptation is great to pocket the cash. >> no, that's not a bill. just an order. >> just 32 bills for the entire day? >> let's have a closer look around. reporter: this is the second time the owner of this bar has been caught out. his fine is doubled to 500 euros. he won't speak to us while the camera is running. outside some guests are sympathetic. >> if we had lower taxes or the money was used for welfare, dodging taxes would not be good. but as things are, you cannot really blame the bar owner. >> we need more checks, so business owners understand they have to give people receipts and pay taxes.

reporter: next day, it is time to pay a visit to an antiques dealer in central athens. greek tv crews are aready waiting here. a new law allows the authorities to close down businesses of re-offenders and expose them to the media. all part of the war on the current ten billion euros or more in undeclared income every year. now, antiques dealer irina safela has been found guilty of several hundred euros undeclared income. >> life for small business owners here in greece is sheer hell. some days we sell nothing at all. we don't earn a single euro. but we pay high taxes and then there are all the fines. it is a huge problem. reporter: her premises are sealed. now her customers know she has dodged paying taxes. >> this is the best thing we can do to pursue them, to be

correct and not violate the law. it's something that they are afraid of, because the fines are really not that big. when they close for 48 hours, it's something bad for their business. reporter: the ferry takes us to the saronic island of aegina. tina papoti speaks a number of different languages. she is the daughter of an air force pilot and lived in the u.s. and germany. there she found that most people abided by the law. a good thing, she says. >> living abroad i saw that the countries that have this kind of mentality, it really works for everybody more. i saw that it is really working. i hope that sometime in the near future, most of the greeks will have this kind of mentality. because we just need a little organization. this is what we need. reporter: we arrive on the

island. after a lengthy search, the inspectors find a small restaurant. most of the tables are occupied. but no bills in sight. we film with a hidden camera. >> have you issued any receipts today? >> no, we do that later in the afternoon. every guest gets one. people just ordered. and i issued a bill, too. >> only when we said we were tax inspectors? >> no, we always give our guests a receipt. look at the ones we issued yesterday. >> what use are they to me? reporter: the owner protests in vain. >> they don't care about small family businesses. my wife, my son, my daughter, all work here. we only have one employee to wash the dishes. but we can hardly make ends meet.

social welfare payments are enormous. but what can i do? i need to retire one day. reporter: the two tax inspectors know that for some of the people who receive a fine it is a harsh blow. but when you look at the figures it becomes clear that one in three businesses are guilty of tax evasion. and the government wants to get the message over. >> now, maybe they are just afraid, scared of us. when we are still out there, every time, then sometime in the near future, they will get used to it. they will wait for us. they will know we are here. so maybe in the next generation, there will be a change of the mentality. reporter: actually, things are already changing. there has been a drop in tax evasion figures. but poverty and unemployment still remain widespread in a cothuny ne of the highest

tax rates in europe. michelle: although more people are paying their taxes now, greece's unemployment and poverty rates remain some of the highest in the eurozone. imagine spending your days scrambling around on giant trash heaps searching for scraps of metal to sell just to make ends meet. that's life for many people in romania, like rozalia and her husband, even though many of these sites have been declared illegal. and while the e.u. has given money to help set up environmentally-friendly waste centers, our reporter saw little evidence of improvement. reporter: every day, 65-year-old rozalia szabos goes through this illegal rubbish dump near the romanian city of targu mures for things she can sell. she is used to the stench and the corrosive fluids. it's the only way she can make a living. she's not embarrassed by her work.

but her husband, who works here too, is. he won't speak to us. >> there's no shame in working. but it's a shame to steal. we're looking for metals so we can buy bread. there's no shame in that. reporter: in romania, there are thousands just like szabos and her husband who scour rubbish dumps. there are over 60 such dumps in the country. even though they should no longer exist, as they don't meet european union standards. janos mate is the region's environmental commissioner. for years, he's been warning about the effects of uncontrolled landfills. >> some water seeps through this illegal dump into a stream. from there, it flows into the river muresch.

we've filed criminal charges because of the pollution of the river. reporter: but that didn't bring any improvements. brussels has threatened to impose a hefty fine on the city if more rubbish is dumped there. but visiting the dump reveals fresh truck tracks and rubbish that's been illegally dumped just recently, although officially this practice was stopped months ago. the security staff deny everything. >> come on, those are old rubbish bags, they've been lying there for ages. trust me, i would never lie to you. three years ago, the city sealed its old rubbish dump for environmental reasons. and opened a new dump according to e.u. standards. which wasn't used for three years, supposedly because waste disposal companies were competing over the lucrative municipal tender. so nothing changed and thousands of truck loads of rubbish were dumped illegally beside the old rubbish dump. the city of targu mures says

it's not to blame. >> the ministries created the laws, bureaucracy and contracts without knowing the situation on the ground and without asking municipalities what problems they face and what possibilities they have to solve them. this caused the country's rubbish problem in the first place. reporter: the city's residents are fed up with excuses like these. they've started taking matters into their own hands by cleaning the riverbanks. they insist they're driving this load of rubbish to the new dump. many simply cannot believe their country is beset by this rubbish problem. that is despite receiving billions in e.u. funding.

>> 30 years after the end of communism, things should be a lot better. it's great to see civil society take action like this. but those involved here are rarely the kind of people who're to blame for producing this rubbish or who are responsible for the illegal waste dumps. it's time the authorities finally did something. reporter: today, rozalia szabos might make two or three euros by selling the metal she's found on the illegal rubbish dump. it is supposed to be closed soon and replaced soon by the new dump. but szabos isn't worried. >> there are other dumps elsewhere. not quite as large, but that's alright. reporter: szabos and her husband aren't worried that rubbish

scavengers like themselves will no longer get by. they say romania is full of dumps just like the one here in targu mures. michelle: more than 20 years ago, tim richardson left britain and settled in the south of france. he is fluent in french and even makes a living producing local wine. he has no plans to return to the u.k. because, along with thousands of other brits like him, he feels very much at home there. that is, until brexit. last year's vote in britain to leave the e.u. could turn tim's french idyll into a bureaucratic nightmare. reporter: as a british vintner in southwestern france, it is very important for tim richardson to be part of the local community. he settled here in eymet, in the dordogne, 26 years ago. as an e.u. citizen, he's even been able to be elected to the municipal council. though post-brexit he'd likely

have to give up his seat. to make sure that doesn't happen, richardson plans to take on french citizenship. >> i feel at home here. i feel more like a resident of the perigord than a brit. brexit changes nothing about my will to stay here. reporter: the british love eymet, and emyet loves the british. over 1,000 of them have taken advantage of their "right to move and reside freely" within the e.u., and settled here. they're attracted by eymet's mild climate, good food, and perhaps by its history. the town fathers sided with england during the hundred years' war. now brexit has, once again, driven a wedge between the british and the french. one reason is that the pound has fallen in value by some a 15% against the euro since the referendum. that's hit the many british retirees here particularly hard.

>> we don't have enough money to buy things or eat out in restaurants as often. we'll have to wait a year or two longer to buy a new car. reporter: retirees like paul brown are looking for ways to compensate for this loss of buying power. in future, tim richardson will likely not be marketing his wines in britain. due to the exchange rate, they've simply become too expensive for most people there. instead, he's selling his wine locally. other british entrepreneurs are making similar plans. >> we have an increase in the number of people wanting to leave england while they still can. because, looking at the state of the pound, if it continues to fall and doesn't rally again, it might be the time to start looking elsewhere. and, from a business standpoint, being part of europe isn't a bad idea either. ♪ reporter:

in eymet, a group of british expats meets every thursday for a drinks and a bit of rock and roll. some are so outraged by brexit that they intend to turn their backs on their homeland for good. >> we were very angry, very upset at the time, after the vote. you know, because we have lived here 12 years. and i think it is crazy, crazy decision. but you don't really know what's going to happen. i mean, as long as we can stay here. i'd never go back to england. reporter: you will not go back. >> no, never, until i die. maybe not then. reporter: many here hope that the british government will change its mind about going through with brexit. but tim richardson takes a different view. >> you can't win every time, can you? in a democracy you must accept the results of a vote. reporter: but richardson says that maybe

europeans can learn something from this experience and, in , future, finally pull together and act in concert. michelle: the number of britons who have applied for citizenship e.u. in other e.u. -- citizenship in other e.u. countries since the brexit referendum has soared by tens of thousands, with more than 250% surge in requests in france alone. many citizens in turkey are troubled by the climate of fear and intimidation that has descended on the country since last year's failed coup. while we've reported on the subsequent crackdown on alleged critics, religious minorities are also affected. officially, president erdogan's conservative government is tolerant towards christians. but, after having seen dozens of churches and monasteries seized by the authorities, the indigenous syriacs, one of the world's oldest christian communities, fears for its

cultural survival. reporter: der qube is a village near the syrian border comprising a church and a few houses. eyup ergun grew up here. now he lives in midyat, the main town in the area, but he comes back to visit as often as possible. only three families remain. they're part of a christian minority called the syriacs. to ergun and the other syriacs, this region is holy land. the aramaic-speaking minority have been living here for over 1700 years. but persecution and political unrest have forced many to leave turkey. many intended to come back, but now they often find they've lost all their property. >> the land you see here, the fields and gardens, now has other owners. if a family were to return from abroad now with the intention of putting a house up on their former land, it wouldn't be possible.

reporter: it was mostly kurds from neighboring villages who took possession of the land, say the people of der qube. and the state took no action to stop them. a relative of ergun's is visiting from germany. he wanted to come back and build a house, but that will remain a dream for now. >> where you see the barbed wire, all that belongs to my family. but the land registry office has entered four to six other people as owners, so it doesn't currently belong to us. reporter: but it's more than just a matter of muslim neighbors taken the land of the remaining syriacs. 1800 the turkish state has set its sights on the christian minority's cultural legacy, says the region's only syriac attorney. >> there was a territorial re-organization three years ago that resulted in all our properties -- the churches,

monasteries, cemeteries and the states -- being signed over either to the state or to various town councils. all we have now is permission to use them. reporter: ergun and two other syriac men head for the neighboring kurdish village, where one of the new joint owners of his property lives. he's obviously not as well off as his christian neighbors. he bids them welcome and invites them in. then ergun comes to the point of his visit. >> you've never owned anything in our village. so how is it that you suddenly have an entry into some of the land registers? you've got to explain that to me. reporter: the neighbor feels he's being unfairly picked on -- but to us, he makes excuses.

>> the syriacs themselves gave up the land when they left. this is not squatting. they sold it! but if the other joint owners come along, i'll be happy to take this case to the land registry office and have my name taken off. it really doesn't belong to me. reporter: it's one small victory for ergun. but the syriacs are still wary. authorities, politicians and neighbors have broken too many agreements with them. on sunday morning, ergun calls the faithful to worship. this former abbey is over 1500 years old. ♪ reporter: the people of der qube say their prayers and sing in the language jesus christ once spoke. now they wonder if they have any future in turkey. >> we don't know what tomorrow will bring, if we'll be driven

out of here, or if we can stay and work our land. nothing is certain. but we're not giving up hope. reporter: ergun plans to marry soon, and he'd like to build a house, here in his village der qube, with sole ownership of his ancestral land. michelle: an ice stadium, a bridge, a railway station and various residential buildings stand incomplete and abandoned across ukraine's capital, kiev, giving it the air of an unfinished city. construction came to a halt years ago after these projects ran out of money due to the financial crisis and worsened by the ongoing conflict with russia. but groups of adventure seekers are finding ways to bring some life back to these concrete skeletons. reporter: this was to be a sports and recreation hall with an ice skating rink in the south of kyiv, but construction came

to a halt years ago. the investors have fled. the site may be abandoned, but it's not deserted. a group of young people have made their way into the hall. they simply tell the watchman they have a permit, no problem. their leader oleg knows how to talk to security guards. >> sites like this are often very large, and the security guards can't be everywhere at once. that's good for us. reporter: there are plenty of choices for outings like this in kyiv. experts have estimated the number of abandoned major construction sites around ukraine's capital at some 200. one is this unfinished theater academy. olga balytska is an attorney and city counselor for a centrist party. she realizes just how much of a burden the unfinished buildings are for kyiv.

the skeleton of the planned academy stands in her electoral district. >> on some of these construction sites, work stopped in the 1990's, after the soviet union fell apart. the chernobyl disaster put an end to other plans. and on top of that came the economic crisis. reporter: the crisis hit the transporation infrastructure especially hard. a subway station had been planned for under the academy, but it, too, is just a shell. the trains don't stop here. the young men at the ice-skating rink are going to do some rope jumping. they're here for the adventure, not to steal materials. >> we want to do and see what's not allowed. forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest. reporter: in the early 1990's, work began on a new bridge over the dnieper. it's been rusting away for years

now. it would take over 300 million euros to complete, money ukraine simply doesn't have. some say it's becoming kyiv's new landmark. >> i see this bridge as a monument to the city government's mismanagement. the construction could've been completed long ago. i hope they'll finish it some day. then we'll have a monument to corruption. reporter: the young adventurers are among the few who benefit from the mismanagement. the abandoned sites are a parkour playground. this urban wasteland stirs up some strong feelings. many privately financed buildings have also been left unfinished. they too attract their share of adventurers. oleg and his group defend their perilous hobby. >> even if they tore this building down, the land would most likely remain unused. it's pretty hard to sell a piece

of real estate in our city, so it's better if this stays the way it is, so people who know about the place can enjoy sunsets like this evening. reporter: to some, it's a monument to failed city planning. to others, it's a recreation spot. with a bit of imagination and daring, even kyiv's construction ruins have something to offer. michelle: it's a pity that so many sites are unfinished but , great that at least some of them can be used in some way. 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]

gñçñ steves: venice's sleek and graceful gondolas are a symbol of the city. from the start, boats were the way to get around among the island communities of the lagoon. to navigate over shifting sandbars, the boats were flat-bottomed, and the captains stood up to see. today's boats still come with gondoliers standing up and no rudder or keel. they're built with a slight curve so that a single oar on the side propels them in a straight line. the art of the gondola survives in the quiet back canals.

in this shop, the workmen, who needed to be good with wood, were traditionally from italy's mountains. that's why they maintain a refreshing alpine feel in this delightful little corner of venice. nearby, in an artisan's workshop, visitors are welcome to observe as he provides for the city's 400 gondoliers. working with traditional tools, graceful oars are carefully planed to be true and properly balanced. and each walnut forcola, the stylized oarlock, is like a sculpture -- handcrafted, one-of-a-kind, and honoring the city's heritage. a gondola ride is a traditional must for romantics. gondolas are moored everywhere. wait till early evening, when the crowds are gone and the light is right.

find a gondolier whose personality you enjoy, settle on a price, and hop in. man: [ speaking italian ] steves: on a gondola, you glide through your own private venice, far from the hubbub of modern tourism. lonely bridges, canals without sidewalks, and reflections of once-upon-a-time grandeur.

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