>> hello and a very warm welcome to "european journal" coming to you from dw studios in brussels. good to have you with us. here's a look at some of our stories this week -- crisis and corruption. turkey in the midst of a power struggle. the bristol whole tell in poland. and in dignity or improvement -- projects for rail line hungary.

assisted suicide is currently being controversially debated in many countries in europe. when somebody has an incurable disease, it sometimes puts their relatives and doctors and a terrible dilemma. in theory, modern medicine allows us to keep some terminally ill patients alive for years, but shouldn't those people have the right to decide for themselves just when enough is enough? while the laws differ from country to country in europe, in germany, assisted suicide is a criminal offense. in belgium, however, it is legal. soon even children could get the right to ask to choose death here under certain conditions. >> imagine your own child wants to die. this was stephanie with her mother in 2008. after battling cancer, the 16- year-old seems to have gone into remission. she had already lost her little brother to cancer. he died at the age of four.

and she had just witnessed how a friend had died of the disease after enduring terrible pain. >> one i visited her in intensive care, she said she did not want to go on and that she would be happy if there were another way -- to go home and say goodbye to her friends and family. >> if stephanie said to me, "mama, i don't want to live. i cannot go on. i am burned out. it's enough." i would respect that, absolutely . >> many parents are confronted with such desperate calls from parents and children when they can't even articulate their pain. this pediatrician says once medicine has reached its limits, he wants to be able to perform euthanasia. >> if a young person of 16 or 17

hopes for it and their condition is truly hopeless and we cannot relieve their physical pain, then we as doctors may not ignore that. of course we have to try every possible therapy, but when the parents and the child's psychiatrists also back we wish to die, we have to respect it. >> but how old do children have to be to make an informed incision? most experts say 12 is the limit. can younger children even explain how great their pain and suffering is? a pediatric nurse shows us the pain thermometer she uses with young patients. >> three to four denotes mild pain. five is just bearable. everything above five is terrible. all the way up to 10, which is unbearable pain. >> we ask if children have ever

said to where they cannot stand anymore and want to die. >> yes, that happens. children who are terminal patients say, "i can't tear it. stop it -- "i cannot bear it. stop it." to the dismay of the church in this mainly catholic country, many people feel the push to choose the right to die. >> it is putting such a responsibility on the children. they might make for treatment to be stopped because they cannot stand it anymore. they may have suffered horribly from the chemo or radiation therapy, but it has to be established whether there is no chance left and if they are really at the end of their life, the child can be progressively sedated and can die with -- if one can say this -- a certain degree of comfort.

>> that was how audrey died. she was 13 when she was diagnosed with leukemia. she died two years later. her father brought her home and cared for her until she died. he wrote a book about it -- a passionate plea against euthanasia. >> i don't think that children know what euthanasia is. no child would ever spontaneously ask. as long as there's enough love the between the child in the parents, a child would never ask her parents to kill her. >> the girl with cancer at the beginning of our report is now a healthy young woman of 22. but stephanie has an insider's view of euthanasia.

>> i think people who choose euthanasia can consciously say goodbye. maybe they'll leave with a better feeling and more peace than if they choose palliative care and slowly drift away. >> stephanie confronted that choice when she was young, when she was very close to dying. >> over to turkey, where the prime minister has plenty of experience fending off political attacks. just half a year ago, hundreds of thousands of people took to they campaigned against his islamic conservative government and in favor of a more open society, but those protests did not seem to faze the prime minister. now, however, an islamic movement is attacking him from within the ranks of power. the setting of this crisis are legal offices, party

headquarters, and police stations. >> in turkey, the arrest of prominent businessmen, political figures, or their offspring has become an almost a daily occurrence. even the prime minister's run is reported to have appeared on the wanted list. the nation is watching the aided breast -- the nation is watching with bated breath. a u.s. exiled cleric has been repeatedly blamed for the current scandal. he's accused of knowing strings in the judiciary and police and controlling his followers from thousands of miles away. the prime minister has reacted angrily to the corruption investigation and has called it a black stain on turkey's democracy and rule of law. he has mobilized his own supporters and hit back backfiring or demoting more than 1000 police officers believed to be loyal to the cleric.

high-ranking officers at the police headquarters in a car have been relegated to less important post in villages -- police headquarters in and kara have been relegated to less important post in villages. they cannot talk about it on camera. the union is outraged. >> i grant hundreds of colleagues during my career, and i have never found proof that these kinds of secret structures exist. the government suspicion has created dangerous polarization between colleagues. >> some are talking in terms of a war within the security services or an attempted coup. political scientist is the author of a book about supporters infiltrating the police. he has no doubt that the cleric's followers are working inside the state apparatus. >> back in the 1970's, the

movement set the goal of infiltrating the security forces and the police in particular. their second goal was the judiciary. the group is now in a position to make arrest, and past court rulings at the same time >> in the corruption case, the suspects are accused of having made a personal profit from illegal dealings in the booming construction sector. some of the investigations were started by this man, who unaware of any power struggle worked with the istanbul building authorities and saw his boss receiving checks. he began to wonder why the same company had been winning construction bids for years. he took the information to the public prosecutor and a strict mayor of the ruling party was arrested. >> it's impossible to build anything in turkey without kick ax -- without kick backs.

if you try to do everything strictly by the book, you will be waiting a long time for planning permission. that is the sad reality. >> the revelations are becoming dangerous for the prime minister and his party. until now, the istanbul district of fact she has been a stronghold of the party. recently, critics have begun to notice a change in tone among the local population. >> for years, politicians have only been looking out for their own interests. they are not interested in the problems of the country or the man on the street. that's why there is no progress. >> after speaking out about what he had seen, he lost his job and received several threats, but he does not regret what he did.

>> i see my statements as a service to my country. i am a young, and i wanted to make a positive contribution. i think the public prosecutor sought the same way -- saw it in the same way. at any rate, i would do it again. >> honest the dozens are suddenly in the midst of a political battle, the likes of which modern turkey has never seen before. the prime minister was hoping to be elected president later this year, but now, he is fighting for his political survival. >> it's astonishing what architects come up with when they design hotels. there are floating hotels, hotels that are shaped like a palm tree, or that are high up on the tree, and there are even hotels that are entirely made of ice and rebuild every winter.

older ones like the bristol hotel in warsaw in poland, are also something like city historians made of stone. >> everyone in warsaw knows the bristol hold tell -- hotel. it is the polish equivalent to berlin's avlon, and it's now 112 years old. it has played host to the rich and famous and stood through war and political turmoil. few know the history of the bristol hotel better than this man who as a young boy was often to be found with his father, who ran the hotel restaurant into the 1930's. he is now in his 90's and has not been to the hotel for more than six decades. he did not want to see how it had been allowed to crumble and communist hands, but has now agreed to return. >> my father died 71 years ago. he spent the best years of his

life in this place. he would be happy to see me here. my favorite memories are of the hotel, him, and me. >> he remembers the façade and has passed through these doors many times. of all the excitement the hotel offered the young boy, what fascinated him most was the electric elevator. it was the worst in poland. -- the first in poland. >> it's the oldest monument in the hotel. it's beautiful, and i'm so happy about it. it has been renovated, but i still recognize everything. it's what i remember best from my childhood -- riding the elevator in the bristol hotel was an amazing experience. >> it was opened to great fanfare in 1901 -- the real gold ceiling decorations screamed luxury. of the 800 telephone lines in

warsaw at the time, six belonged to the bristol. the owner, who later became prime minister of poland, made sure that everyone of any importance stayed in his hotel. but the bristol's café was also a popular meeting place for locals. pavel recalls the golden days in ages past -- the golden age of days past. >> it was the most exclusive hotel, where everyone went. there were other good hotels in warsaw, but they were not as finely ornate -- as finely furnished as the bristol. the atmosphere was amazing. everyone who came here felt as if they were entering a different, better world. things came, so we wanted to be here, to -- kings came, so we wanted to be here, too. >> in 1939, the germans invaded

roland, and after the war, the communist took over. the glory days were over. although the hotel survived the war without any significant structural damage, its grantor was out of tune with communist ideals. 25 years on, the hotel is looking ahead without forgetting the past. >> many great stories about this hotel, one of them was about michael jackson when he stayed here. he was so enchanted with the place that he decided that he wanted to buy it. it turned out he did not at the end, but it's a nice story. >> another relates to a former german chancellor, who deemed the bed's too small and unstable so insistent on a new one. rumor has it the cockroaches were permanent guest during the communist era and that some guest preferred to sleep in the hallways, but that was then. these days, the hotel has

regained its reputation as a first-class eatery, serving exquisite food just as it did 100 years ago. after so many years, he steps back into the kitchen of his childhood. he is a little skeptical about the stainless steel cutlery, which he says is a poor replacement would over where with the bristol engraving -- poor replacement for the east silverware with the bristol engraving. overall, he is thrilled to see it restored to its former glory. the next time he has guest, he says he will take them to the bristol because anywhere else just would not be right. >> three years ago, hungary adopted a strategy to help improve living conditions for roma in europe. they were to be given better access to education, health care, and jobs, and other eu countries followed suit with similar programs, but today, 80% of the 12 million roma in europe

still live for and meet the poverty level. critics say the strategies have not really help, and there are still very few success stories. we had a look around into villages in hungary. >> the mayor came up with the idea himself -- a contest to shovel as much fresh compost as possible, and a local politician the everyone else hands down. >> what else do we had to do today? >> to cover the green houses with cheating -- sheeting. >> but the workers are not there voluntarily. since the government launched its compulsory work program for unemployed roma, that mayor, who is an ethnic roma himself, has drafted half of the village to work here in the green houses. >> we will have to look each other in the eyes. in the morning, when i get up, the first thing that i should ask myself is - what job i can

do, not how i can best break into a house. we have to change things. >> music to the ears of the right-wing government. across hungary, there are 200,000 roma doing what is referred to as community service, but it does not seem to be having as much impact in other places. grinding poverty still exists in this village 300 kilometers away three years after the launch of the public program. roma feel that the scheme discriminates against them. >> we are being forced to work like slaves. we do not have anything to eat or drink. we do not even have a toilet, but we have to be grateful.

otherwise, we will starve to death. >> the roma get 200 euros a month for their labor and a bundle of wood for heating. the education initiative, an important part of the strategy, is also not auctioning. the schooling for roma remains basic, and there are no mixed classes with ethnic hungarians. some families are coaching the kids at home to try to bridge the difference. the roma have long been discriminated against in hungarian society, and as to not seem to be improving. we're told the new electoral law has even restricted to the liberties. >> if i put on these electoral forms that i am an ethnic roma,

then i cannot vote for any of the other political parties. i can only vote for or against a roma representative in parliament. >> things could be much better for the roma in hungary, according to this man who says millions of euros from the european union were invested in the roma strategy projects, money that was badly invested, he says. >> over the last 25 years, all the political parties had one thing in common -- their prejudices against the roma community. none of them really have the will to change the situation. 90% of the 700,000 roma live in abject poverty, but only few profit from the integration schemes. the so-called model roma. >> laszlo is not a member. he says it is his objective to

show the hungarian people that the roma are capable of making an honest living tilling the land. the appearance of the village at least has improved. >> we have asked a 12-year-old roma girl from bulgaria about her dreams for the future, and we have asked roma and rants what they are out of, and we give you the answers and more an hour -- in our dw online special . you can find the link on our facebook page as well. research helps companies gain an advantage over their competitors. that is particularly true for the pharmaceutical industry that invest billions in the development of new products, but only those that can be marketed. it is hard to find a private sector business willing to research against infectious

tropical diseases. in spain, scientists have to come up with creative ways to fund their projects themselves because in these times of crisis, the government has drastically cut public funding on research. >> every evening, louisa and her son are out and about in madrid selling lottery tickets. nothing unusual about that, but louisa is not a normal vendor. she is a highly qualified genetic scientist. she turns the proceeds from the ticket sales over to a research project because the spanish government has radically cut funding. >> we have to use every option to save our research, which is dying or lack of public funding in spain. >> this lab is her daytime work lace. it's where she does her research on hereditary hemorrhagic telegenic kaser, or hht, which

leads to chronic, sometimes life-threatening bleeding. in the past four years, her funding has been cut in half. the project is on the verge of being canceled. a patient's association provides money for to salaries. >> we are working on a very concrete illness, and if we stop the research and no other lab and 10 use the work, the patients are left without any hope for some port, like abandoned orphans. >> the crisis in spain has prompted some quirky solutions. louisa went on a popular tv quiz show where she won 15,000 euros. of course, she put the money right into her research project. while some sell lottery tickets,

others are packing their bags. amaya, for instance, the highly trained astrophysicist, is relocating to the united states. the 39-year-old will be doing research for the u.s. space agency nasa and baltimore. her contract in spain has not been renewed. since 2009, successive governments have cut the research budget by one one 4 billion euros, a reduction of 40%. amaya published an open letter to the prime minister. >> when i emigrate soon, the science i do will not be spanish, nor thanks to spain, but in spite of spain. >> spain invests only 1.3% of its gdp in research -- less than half the investment level in germany. >> it is very hard to put a

figure to people's education and potential. we cannot recover human capital so easily. it is a complete disaster for spain. >> the brain drain continues unabated. astrophysicist amaya has moved to the u.s. to work. genetic i'll just louisa -- genetic biologist louisa tries to keep her head above water with lottery tickets. in crisis times, they are selling better than ever, she tells us. >> i am at peace with myself. if i stopped doing research someday, i can at least say i can -- i did everything i could. >> it's like the disease that louisa studies. spain is being led try -- bled dry.

>> that report wraps up this edition of "european journal." thanks so much for watching. do join us again next week at the same time if you can. until then, auf wiedersehen and bye for now. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--