♪ x welcome from brussels. in the next half-hour we will be looking at what is going on in the lives of europeans. here's a selection of what we have for you today. germany are wondering what to expect from angela merkel. albania church frescoes are being destroyed. france, why the famous lavender is at risk.

first up, it germany. europeans are watching closely as 62 million germans went to the polls a few days ago. evil across the continent from sweden to spain are well aware that the outcome of the elections in the eu's largest economy is going to have implications on their lives as well. whether they like it or not, angela merkel is keeping her job as german chancellor. >> a triumph. angela merkel has one of -- has won the biggest victory of her political career. congratulations from all over the world. she is a pinnacle of power in germany and europe. a year ago she was the object of harsh criticism. greek newspapers debt of old stereotypes and all over germany old fears of germany emerged.

>> suddenly europe is speaking german. >> the chancellor becomes the dominant figure. germany's southern neighbors are wishing they could vote. they would like to see the social democrats in power or at least junior partners in a grand coalition to tone down angela merkel's demand for austerity. >> the savings measures do not help greece. we need investments, a marshall plan. it does not look like they have that in mind. >> which reports are right about germany's policy on the euro? a british magazine or command unity behind the chancellor. at least her policies are known and stable. many country want her help taking national competencies back from the european union.

>> the germans and british have much closer views of a lots of other things. for example, how free the economy should be, how much state involvement would there be. the brits and other people as well see a multi polar europe emerging. it is not just france and germany driving the integration forward. >> british applause for angela merkel is new. earlier, all she received was scorned. her style of politics was to take things slowly. she was persistent and gradually she gently forced her course upon her partners, thereby fulfilling expectations of germany. >> the world needs a strong leadership. likea strong role that comes ouf germany today. >> merkel has her difficulties with the role of leader. it is a german dilemma and up.

how can the chancellor lead without dominating the rest of europe? how can they use the economic power without isolating itself from european partners? >> intellectual and -- it germany promises something that is not possible because the markets are attacking, then it is completely exposed. >> and her new term, she will have to tell the germans at rescuing the euro will cost more. that will make her popular in the rest of the ee you. >> seeing angela merkel columns people. if europeans here germany it is because of german history, not germany today. >> merkel is a calm personality. you cannot be afraid of her on a personal level. that is why i think concisely in an era where germany is strong again angela merkel is the right kind of person to have.

>> deep inside, political tensions are still at work. anger and hate are not distinguished. germany's leading role in europe has not yet matured. merkel knows that germany is the driving force of european unification and must not back down. >> when it comes to form politics, europeans find it hard to take up a common stance on syria. they are worried the civil war could spill over into other countries, bringing it closer to european soil. turkey is already affect it. islamist rebels are also launching attacks against the 2 million kurdish people who lived in syria. the kurds set up in a thomas region. it is something million of kurds in turkey have tried to establish for decades to no avail. now that kurds in syria are

coming under attack, turkish kurds crossed the border to help. >> syrian kurds live on one side of the border. turkish kurds on the other. for decades, the region has been peaceful. now civil war is raging on the syrian side and the violence is going over. the windows of this cap they were shattered by a grenade fired by islamist militias. now it is -- now the kurdish owners want to give it up. >> they come from chechnya, afghanistan, serbia, and where else who knows. they have the right to defend themselves. >> four weeks the militant islamist of the front have been battling the ethnic kurdish

minority with the kurdish side at crazily -- occasionally cut in the crossfire. >> we have been living in fear for months. we could be hit again at any time. the groups are not far from here. we know that for sure. >> the courage to say the turkish army only strikes iraq when a thought's forces violate the border. they have not partisan shot against the islamist militias even though the damage they rocked in the town is clear to see. trains have not been stopping here for months as of the constant exchange of fire. five people have been killed here alone. many in the town are convinced that turkey is actively supporting the in most -- islamists who want in a town in the state.

they now fear the situation will feel the aspirations of its own kurds for self-rule. >> with the withdrawal from turkey, the bkk has taken the first steps. the government has not done anything. it is getting involved with the kurds in syria. we stick together. if any of us are under attack, we all feel it. firstly, i have dozens of relatives in syria. what is going on there has major repercussions for the peace process between turks and kurds. >> the turkish government rejects any suggestion that a has ties to islamist militias in syria. two weeks ago, footage was shot of fires -- becker belong to the militias.

they did not like the fact they were being filmed. another photograph shows a politician talking to a refiner. this resident says it is evidence that the turkish state is behind the attack on kurds on the other side of the border. he wants to remain anonymous because he fears for his son's life. but many other turkish kurds, his son has gone to syria to join the fight against the islamist militias. >> he was injured a month ago. he recovered. it has been days since i have heard anything from him. the fighting continues. initially, after the start of the civil war in syria, our kurdish brothers were did -- unaffected. what does turkey do? it supplies the islamists with

weapons to destroy the kurds. >> the first turkish kurds to have died in the conflict are being buried. the funeral of a 28-year-old was held recently in a suburb of his symbol -- instanbul. his friend swore they would intervention. >> our friend went there to support this. it groups continue to attack, then many more people will go there to fight, not just from turkey. >> the shop show as soon as it gets dark. few people venture onto the street after nightfall. everyone is worried about their children and the grenade that rained down on the town every night.

>> the children are sleeping badly and wake up at the slightest sound. when he hear the sound of bombs the kids come into our bed. -- when we hear the sound of bombs the kids come into our bed. like i stopped having to school every day. a lot of teachers have moved away because they are afraid. >> these days the children are sleeping on the floor where it is supposedly safer. the town they live in is at war. >> albania, which until over 20 years ago, was a communistic dictatorship. they were not allowed to travel. all religions were and. it became the first atheist state. ironically, orthodox perches were heavily protected at the time. albanian leaders cared for the country's historic site and property. after the collapse of socialism,

cultural sites were abandoned and albania. the perfect opportunity for thieves. this leads to the higher mountains and 1500 years back into history. to a tiny chapel. this restorer and orthodox priest come up here often. earlier this year, they made a shocking and tragic discovery. >> they started here and smashed the madonna icons here and here. >> that is right. the icons head is missing. >> the vandals tried to watch them off the walls of the chapel with axes and knives. they were the work of the renowned 16th-century icon

painter. the guards were laid off 1.5 years before for lack of funding. >> none of our cultural treasures are guarded. over the past 20 years, countless churches have been plundered. this is just one example. >> the police try to hush the matter up. they did not come here for three days. only after pressure from us. they just looked around and took off again. two weeks later there was another break-in into more frescoes were stolen and destroyed. >> the institute of cultural monuments in the capital is trying to save what they can. piecing together what was left behind. the institute direct to her does

not believe the authorities could have done any more to protect the cultural treasures in the first place. >> there is no clear jurisdiction. we have five or six agencies that share responsibility. the conservation authority. the ministry. all of them share responsibility and no one is responsible. >> many albanians realized that. in spring, a group of conservationists demonstrated in front of the district of culture, including other agencies of indifference of corruption. protest organizers show some of the results of what they term the governor's negligence. in the city is the largest preserved roman amphitheater in the balkans, dating back to the second century. the city let developers build villas right on top of it. he said they are destabilizing

the amphitheater. >> after the follow-up communism, we started on a systematic distraction of our cultural heritage. our worst enemies are not the thieves and vandals but the very institutions that are charged with protecting these treasures. >> there taking it upon themselves to stop the destruction both on land and underwater. they had even rated geological sites. he claims many of them come here from italy and greece because the historical sights there are well protected. one of the kingpins in the antiquities racket is the golden dawn of a far right wing party. those in thethere after more than money. -- in the know are more than

money. >> they're out to provoke the albanian people, not just the orthodox community. these radicals are fighting to get pieces of albania to split off and join with greece. >> and orthodox trees calls believers to worship. -- and orthodox raised calls believers to worship. he is hoping the newly elected government will make good on its promises to protect albanians cultural treasures. then he says the signs of saying "here stands a state protected cultural monument" might have some meaning. what do you do when you are faced with rising energy prices? governments are looking for alternatives to imported oil.

the british government buildings in the fracking method to pump up oil and gas from deep underground. that method is met with heavy resistance in the south of london. people have been protesting at a potential fracking site there for weeks. this used to be a sleepy village in west stuck six. -- stuck six -- sussex. the protesters are a motley collection of troops, friends of the earth, and locals. among them is a prominent wine critic charles metcalfe. he has never been the type to demonstrate but now his t-shirts sports and anti-fracking looking -- slogan. >> unless we do something now to stop this, not just here but

everywhere, our countryside will be real wind. our water will never be clean. it is a terrible future ahead of us. >> this has been thrust to the frontline of the anti-fracking movement. they're asking to build a human chain. so far the protests have been marginally peaceful. there have been 82 arrests would -- arrests. fracking involves forcing water or chemicals into the bedrock under high pressure to create tiny fractures through which oil and natural gas can be extracted. is conducting test and has not decided if it can produce gas in sufficient quantities here. charles metcalfe does not believe a word the company says. >> they have tried to deflect

attention by saying we are not going to frack. they get to frack. we have learned not to trust anything they say. >> fracking has been implicated in causing earthquakes. they worry about this and other side effects. video shows gas coming out of the water faucets. that may be rare. it is not hard to line well- rounded concerns. people wonder how long the air and water will be clean. >> if there is any doubt or wrist that this kid out health problems, there should be done

more to safeguard it or they suggest banner like they have done in france. >> protesters are demanding that it be main -- named a fracking free zone. scientists have estimated that fracking could release more than one .5 trillion euros worth of natural gas in britain. the government has made the plans as part of an energy revolution, granting companies fracking licenses around the island. >> david cameron has also been trying to sell fracking to the british public. >> we will be making a big mistake as a nation if we did not think hard about how to an

encourage cheaper prices. >> he maintains it would mean cheaper energy and britain. opponents say it will come at the price of clean water. southern england has already that's always been a touring bastion but the fracking issue has been an issue. >> i voted conservative. i would not vote for an mp who supported fracking. >> the issue is standing -- sending shockwaves. >> we tried are the channels and they failed. the only way has been literal self-defense with people's bodies. >> caroline lucas blocks the road. labor party representatives join in. charles metcalfe has turned his critically discerning tongue from wine to the megaphone. >> we will do our very best to

continue doing so. >> the government may have been looking for an energy revolution. here they are getting an uprising. >> that rebellion is likely to continue. they have cleared this for now. it has art he said it plans to continue in a few weeks time. the english queen victoria is said to have been very fond of lavender. she allegedly wanted a fresh bundle brought to her daily. it grows particularly well in france. it's sweet scent is known worldwide. queen victoria would have bad news from france these days. >> finally the lavender is a blooming. the growers are wondering how the harvest would be. in recent years it has been

rather scant. six years ago she gave up her job as a management consultant and started a new business. the green leaves are sprouting after the heavy rains. she picks them by hand, unlike many of her colleagues. every five years she lets the soil recover. is a cautionary measure to make sure the crop remained stable. >> this is a big problem, this parasite carried by cicadas. our lavender here is not affected yet. i hope it remains that way as long as possible. >> higher up in the mountains, 25 people live in this village. his fields have already been hit hard by the fighter plasma bacteria that is spread by cicadas. the pathogen interferes with

normal flower growth and ultimately causes the plant to dry out. the disease has been writing for quite some time, fueled by hot summers. the yearly production has fallen from five tons to just 200 kilos. >> in some areas here, lavender dies immediately after you plant it. under these conditions growing lavender no longer makes economic sense. many local farmers are switching this to shea -- to sage. it is not as versatile as lucrative as the blue gold of provence. at the research center for medicinal dust medicinal plants, scientists a way to say the

lavender. diseased plants are set next to a newly bred strain to see how it responds. the center's director inspects the roots for cicadas which transmit the bacteria. >> there is no 100% resistant lavender. the strain is somewhat more robust. unfortunately, there is no guarantee even for this kind that it will remain healthy for dozens of years. there is no all clear yet on those that are so popular with japanese and german taurus -- taurus -- tourists.

>> that brings us to this addition of the european journal. until then, bye for now. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--