♪ michelle: a very warm welcome from a chilly germany on this weeks' edition of "fokus on europe." i'm michelle henery. the metoo movement was a hashtag that went viral on social media last october, bringing to light the pervasiveness of sexual assault and harassment. and in sweden -- a country considered to be further ahead than most when it comes to gender equality -- the debate over the movement snowballed into a social phenomenon. thousands of people have taken to the streets in a show of solidarity with metoo. they demand full equality and harsher punishment for sexual violence. 25-year-old professional handball player linnea claeson has become an icon of sweden's metoo movement.

the country has been rocked by thousands of stories of assault and harassment from women across industries, from arts and media, to politics and sports. women like linnea, who with her huge social media following, hope that by confronting the issue, her country can move forward. reporter: 25-year-old linnea claeson of sweden is in her element on the handball court. at practice, the professional player and her team function like a well-oiled machine. linnea has been playing handball since childhood. now she plays in denmark's first division. she's on backcourt offense and the key player on her team. but linnea is a fighter off the handball court, as well. to many, she's a hero in the fight against sexual harassment. and she's had more than her share of hurtful experiences on the internet. linnea: things like this have

happened both to me and my girlfriends. sexual innuendos on the internet, and offline, as well. reporter: over and over, she's received suggestive and degrading postings on her social media accounts. a total stranger sent her this one -- >> hey deary, you go for scarfing? i'd like to gradually strangle you beneath me until you slowly run out of air. how's that sound? a little hot? reporter: linnea says this kind of harassment is widespread on the internet -- almost a daily occurrence. men photograph their own genitals and send them to her regularly, often captioned with lewd texts. linnea decided to take action. she began touching up the photos and writing her own comments on the messages. then she puts them on her instagram profile -- linea claeson.

linnea: often, these men get really furious, sad, hurt, cross. they make even worse threats than the ones before, saying i should be murdered or raped. even so, i feel like i'm in control now. reporter: even before the #metoo campaign, linnea was vigorously defending herself against the constant harassment. she has set an example for many other women, while #metoo has had a radical impact on the public debate in sweden. now, linnea claeson speaks frequently on the topic to large audiences, as here in gothenburg. she's demanding a fundamental change in attitudes. linnea: it starts out in fun and gets written off as a joke -- "oh, i was just kidding, don't be so uptight." but when you're subjected to a physical attack, it's no longer a joke. reporter: and people listen to her. they welcome her remarks. many feel liberated.

>> most women have experienced these things from childhood on. >> it's not so easy to hear the things other men are capable of. >> i'm worried that this movement will peter out. but i'm hoping it'll carry on. linnea: things are really taking off here in sweden. women of all walks are coming together. men are getting involved, suddenly listening and wanting to change and support us. reporter: in 1954, the swedish government established a minister for gender equality -- a high-priority political goal here for a long time. the minister is acutely aware that much work remains to be done. asa: sexual harassment and violence against women as well as demeaning comments about women are an expression of power

-- whether informal or formal power -- that men have more of than women do. we've neglected the education of boys. they ought to grow up with such values as equal rights, equality, and respect. but they also have to learn to deal with deep emotions, and that girls and boys should regard one another as equal partners. reporter: and it's not just women who are taking the initiative. men have long been forming self-help groups, often hoping to teach their children other ways of interacting. tommy lucassi founded one of stockholm's first men's groups. tommy: we men have to start changing our attitudes towards ourselves, our self-images, and what we're allowed to talk about. personally, i've gotten more relaxed and self-confident since i've been able to let myself be weak now and then.

reporter: tommy says he wants his son to grow up with different values. since linnea claeson started publicly defending herself against sexual harassment, the threats and insults have only increased. that scares her, but not enough to make her give up. linnea: i hope that girls born nowadays won't have to experience what i've been through. to be confronted with sexual violence their whole life long is something nobody should have to deal with. we shouldn't have to live like that. reporter: there's a long way yet to go, linnea adds, before women can live with true freedom and respect -- even in sweden. michelle: getting along with your neighbor -- it's a key tenet of life. and it's also one of the many rules for joining the eu -- any and all border disputes must be

sorted out before joining. unfortunately for slovenia and croatia, this is not the case. a long-simmering dispute has erupted over the bay of piran along the stunning adriatic coastline that leaves fishermen on both sides bemused. reporter: for ezio kocijancic, nothing is like it used to be. a large part of the fishing area where he has cast his net until now suddenly belongs to neighboring slovenia. and fishing is now prohibited for him. ezio: my grandfather fished here, then my father. now i fish here, as does my daughter and her husband, and we'll keep fishing here. slovenia can't just say from one day to the next that the sea belongs to them. reporter: the sea in the gulf of piran -- an idyllic bay. until now, the border was in the middle of the bay. an international court of arbitration decided that the

majority now belongs to slovenia. as ezio approaches the new border, a slovenian police boat appears. ezio: we are always accompanied by the croatian police so that the slovenian police can't do anything, can't arrest us. when we cross over this border, we are threatened with fines of up to 40,000 euros. reporter: the dispute over the bay of piran goes back more than 25 years. after pressure from the eu, both sides agreed to arbitration. but now, croatia doesn't want to accept the result. marija: arbitration should be based on trustfulness, and this was completely ruined in that process. the croatian parliament decided

unilaterally that croatia walks out of this arbitration agreement. so since then croatia was not participating, unfortunately the arbitration will not continue to work. it did yield the arbitration award, but croatia cannot accept and does not recognize this. this is legally and politically unacceptable for croatia. reporter: the slovenes, on the other hand, see european rights violated and insist the ruling be enforced, because both sides had agreed to accept the result of the arbitration. bostjan: now the border in the sea is clearly drawn. the arbitration court defined it precisely. because of the special circumstances in the last six months, slovenia has already warned that the waters are slovenian territory.

since the 30th of december, the police are executing their authority. reporter: the slovenian fishers in piran are certainly pleased about the newer, bigger fishing area, but they don't trust the peace. they've adopted a wait and see attitude. zlatko: as long as the situation isn't regulated and the croatians won't accept the border, we'll keep recognizing the line in the middle of the bay. if there is eventually peace, then we'll sail to our new fishing grounds that were drawn out by the arbitration court. reporter: slovenian and croatian fishers are both annoyed by the ongoing disagreement.

ezio: if the hatred between the two countries keeps increasing, it's my fear that even reasonable citizens will feel the effects of it. reporter: as of yet, there haven't been any serious incidents. but ezio would rather not think about how long this battle over borders might still last. michelle: deniz yuchel is among the nearly 140 journalists and writers jailed in turkey following a failed attempt to overthrow the government in 2016. in the aftermath, thousands of civil servants were arrested over alleged links to the coup. however, the purge spread to anyone perceived as critical, including academics, writers, and journalists. we met a court reporter who observes and documents the sentences passed on them every day, all the while knowing she could be the next victim of justice.

reporter: at breakfast, canan coskun is already checking to see if there have been any more arrests. for years, the 30-year-old has worked as a court reporter covering the trials of her colleagues. canan: i check if other journalists were imprisoned. since the police weren't at my place at 5:00 a.m., they could have struck somewhere else. reporter: she hasn't lost her sense of humor. without it, she says she wouldn't be able to last in her job. she reports from the heavily guarded palace of justice in istanbul, the place where freedom of press in turkey came to an end. canan: every day when i walk over to this place, i see this building as some kind of enormous monster awaiting me with an ugly grimace.

reporter: cameras are not allowed in the courthouse, so from this point we record with a hidden cell phone. today, she attends another case against colleagues of the daily paper "cumhuriyet." the accusation -- betraying state secrets. few other reporters are present. trials against journalists have become part of a sad routine in turkey. the coverage of the trial itself is obstructed by the courts. canan: they say there's no place for the press. the building is huge, but the courtrooms are very small. the smallest rooms are always selected for these important trials. no more than 20 to 25 visitors can fit into them. once i had to report on a trial in one room, while i was a defendant in another, so i had to walk back and forth. reporter: in that case, coskun was acquitted -- but the mood remains tense.

when journalists, or, like here, attorneys protest against their working conditions in the palace of justice, they are forced out of court. they are powerless against the repression of the state. according to data from human rights organizations, around 140 journalists are currently in prison in turkey. this time, coskun's colleagues walk free, at least for the time being. after two hours, attorneys and defendants come out of the courtroom after the trial is postponed for two months. coskun sends a copy of the court's decision to her paper. outside, in front of the courthouse, the lawyer for the journalists describes the repeated postponements of the trial as a tactic to keep the defendants under pressure. coskun and her colleagues are watched and filmed by the police the entire time. one of the defendants is thankful that coskun is not intimidated.

erdem: it's so important, because it's become routine in turkey to condemn and imprison journalists. fewer and fewer newspapers and tv stations in this country are concerned with this, because they censor themselves. and that is the intention behind it. reporter: coskun returns to the editorial department of her newspaper, "cumhuriyet." three of her colleagues are currently in prison, and dozens of accusations are pending. the editors fight to survive, and coskun knows that she could be indicted at any time for her court reporting. canan: in turkey there is no system of law that protects the rights of individuals. entire groups in society have been declared enemies, and their rights are just taken away.

reporter: and the world would not be aware of this if canan coskun didn't get up every morning to report from the inside of istanbul's palace of justice. michelle: last week showed a hopeful sign -- turkey's constitutional court ruled that two jailed journalists be released after more than a year in prison. but hours later, the ruling was overturned, with the government saying turkey's highest court had gone too far. by the end of the 19th century, they had been wiped out by hunters. but now, wolves are back in germany. according to some estimates, their numbers have tripled in the last two years. it should come as no surprise then that farmers -- who regularly lose livestock -- and animal rights activists are at loggerheads at how best to handle these predatory creatures. reporter: it might be odd to think of wolves in germany, but

there are an estimated 300 in brandenburg alone -- that's the state surrounding berlin. the wolves usually hunt at dusk or at night, silently and in packs. and their number is growing. farmers are all too aware. the packs hunt wild animals, but also livestock out on the fields. it's taking its toll financially. for brandenburg farmer jurgen frenzel, the wolves are causing so much trouble, he's worried about his livelihood. jurgen: i think the wolves are getting smarter. we have a feeling that they're going into the herd, chasing them, and separating a calf from them. reporter: he lost 40 calves in 2017 -- ten times more than the year before. compensation is only given if they can prove it's wolves, which is tricky when the calf

just disappears, or it's stillborn because the mother was under stress. farmers are supposed to use fencing, but that's expensive. jurgen: to improve the fences for our two herds -- that's a total of 180 animals -- we'd have to invest nearly 100,000 euros. and we'd only get a subsidy of about 9500 euros. reporter: brandenburg has responded to the farmers' plight. they've authorized hunters to shoot wolves -- if, as in the case of jurgen frenzel, they have repeatedly attacked livestock or a human being. animal protectionists are concerned. stefan hoika has been tracking a pack of wolves in his neighborhood for years, and is convinced the situation isn't that dramatic. and as long as the wolf isn't lured in with food, it will avoid humans. stefan: you see these fresh wolf tracks, only a few hours old. in nine years i've only seen one

five or six times. they're usually very shy. they just observe us, i imagine. reporter: hoika mostly observes the wolves using camera traps. stefan: he turned because he heard the camera. it's a black flash, so he can't see it. he's wary. reporter: hoika says the animals should be allowed to live in brandenburg. permission to shoot wolves is unnecessary, and only a cause for scaremongering. stefan: this is an endangered species. the few wolves we have aren't going to wildly multiply at 30% a year -- i can't listen to this argument anymore. we barely have 1000 wolves in germany. reporter: barely 1000, but for most hunters, that's still too many. the brandenburg hunting association demands a more limited population. they say this large predator doesn't fit in the modern landscape.

they want fixed shooting quotas and more freedom to decide when a wolf must be shot. some say just a single pack in an entire german reserve would be enough. frank: one pack is about four to six animals -- they can live sustainably. they can rear their young, have a home. it's fair to everyone. if you want to see more wolves, go to the zoo. reporter: getting everyone on the same page is going to be a challenge. but amid the bitter disputes between hunters, farmers, and animal rights groups, hoika still has hope for the future of the wolves in germany. stefan: we need to work together until it's better. working with the hunting community like this is groundbreaking. most of the time you just get resistance -- "damn the wolves, shoot them all." then i just shake my head.

reporter: wolves were driven out of the country 100 years ago. integrating the animals back into modern-day germany, despite the difficulties, is a task only humans can do. michelle: young bulgarians are on the move. many of them migrate to seek out exciting opportunities, unique experiences, and of course, their fortunes. and after leaving their native country -- ranked the poorest in the european union -- and receiving degrees from places like england, austria, or even here in germany, many are in fact, going back. our reporter met with a few graduates who insist that there's no place like home. reporter: the 19th-century bulgarian writer aleko konstantinov appears to gaze with confidence into the future, but the mood in sofia could hardly be more different. crime, corruption, and financial mismanagement make regular headlines in the european union's poorest country.

that's the reason many younger bulgarians have left the country to seek a better life elsewhere. one of them is nikolay nikolov, a medical student who's finishing his training this year. he wants to pursue his career as a specialist in radiology -- not in bulgaria, but in germany. nikolay: i want to work in my field in germany because of the access to modern medical equipment. conditions for further training are much better there, too. reporter: others his age have similar intentions. low wages and pervasive corruption are the two main problems driving young bulgarians away. nikolay: corruption, bribery -- that's the usual situation here. we hope these problems will be eradicated. that's the only way bulgaria can move forward. reporter: about 23,000 bulgarians left their country in

2016. but a new trend suggests others who've already spent time abroad are returning home with higher qualifications -- some 11,000 did just that in the same time period. one of them is 33-year-old christian mitov. after finishing his business studies in dusseldorf, he founded a tour company in sofia taking visitors around in an old trabant, the car once manufactured in communist east germany. christian: we do the trabi tours to show people what life was like in the old days. we chose the trabi because it's the car that sort of symbolizes communism. reporter: mitov's idea found an audience. today, he owns six trabants and has a staff that serve about 25,000 customers a year. mitov sees his future right here -- he wants to invest in bulgaria.

christian: there are many more opportunities to start a business in bulgaria than in germany. there are plenty of ideas that would work here just as well as they do in germany and other western countries. reporter: one example is gourmet cooking from a sofia rooftop. this big kitchen has a staff of 50, plus 50 more working in the adjacent restaurants that serve 1000 customers per day. the new enterprise at the top floor of a high-rise building has an impressive view of the city. and it's all run by 24-year-old gergana manolova, who earned her masters degree in business in vienna and london. half a year ago she took over the management here -- a rarity in the male-dominated food service sector in bulgaria. gergana: i came back immediately after university, because there

was a great business opportunity that i thought couldn't wait. because the country has so many opportunities that need to be grabbed, like the opportunity that i hadn't grabbed. reporter: even though she's been successful in this venture, gergana manolova has other plans. at some point, she says, she'll leave this job, too. her reason? europe is constantly moving, and she doesn't want to stand still. michelle: we wish those graduates the best of luck on their very exciting endeavors. that's it for today. until next time, goodbye. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]