>> hello and a very warm welcome to "european journal" coming to you from george abela studios in brussels -- coming to you from deutsche welle studios in brussels. here's what we have for you today -- britain -- how floods are washing through the southwest. france -- why deep-sea fishermen are coming under pressure. and poland -- a fairytale of light. for several weeks now, british

headlines have been dominated by the severe floods. since christmas, the southwest of england has been affected particularly badly by storm fronts. flood protection systems have collapsed. several people have been killed, and entire regions are still underwater, but for somerset levels, this low-lying area was rescued from the sea hundreds of years ago. authorities from london struggle to find a response and lay the blame game. in the meantime, flood victims are taking matters into their own hands. >> this road in the southwestern english village of thorny has become a waterway. locals are in this together. many of their houses here have flooded her weeks. yet, like rod who has lived in the village for more than 30 years, they have no intention of leaving for drier ground. >> it's more just looking after house. you cannot lock the doors because they have all swollen up.

even if we were not living there, i would try to sleep there. >> his neighbor judith has fared better. her house is built on slight elevation, but with the fields inundated, her ponies are penned up and fed on hey -- hay. the water that comes all the way goes right across the mile. if we flood, the whole of somerset is going to flood, i think. >> the davis family waves carefully through the flood waters, which are contaminated with waste. with no central sewage system in this rural part of the country, each house has its own septic tank, the contents of which mixed with the rainwater long ago. with almost all the streets around thorny blocks, moving about is difficult, and a school run takes much longer. >> it's gone from 15 minutes up

to 45 minutes now. that's the impact it has on you all and everything else. -- fuel and everything else. the price of it just spirals out of control. >> a neighboring village has been completely cut off. villagers blame the authorities for the floods, which they believe could have been fermented by systematic river dredging. >> if you have a river that's like that and you let it to the stage where it's a third of the volume, then you cannot expect water to go through at the same rate that it should do. >> if we were french, there would have been a convoy of trailers dumping silt from downing street already. we do not really behave like that, but i think the feeling is if this go on, downing street will be full of silk soon. >> local politician david hall admits that mistakes were made. government austerity measures

resulted in staff cuts, which meant rivers were not dredged. equally, the volume of construction projects upstream has written -- rendered the ground less able to absorb rainwater. >> there's always that contradiction. government is calling on local authorities to build and build large numbers of houses, and of course, a lot of the local authorities and low-lying areas only have planes in which to build. >> for the time being, residents have to rely on the help of the fire department to take them shopping past what has become the island of mattel make -- muchelny. the village, which is known for its old at the -- abbey has fallen quiet. residents' cars have been dormant for weeks. a local ferry takes passengers to the local village where they can stop -- stock up on supplies. residents agree that they will

not be stopped by floodwaters. >> there are some solutions which could be engineered without too much difficulty. the road across the west here is fairly short tom up of very deep. that could be raised up above the flood level. that will be a great help, and that could possibly be done. >> i think you just got to make the best of it. what else can you do once the water is here? it's here. >> upstream, water levels are still rising. a load of sand has just been delivered, and residents are trying to reinforce their defenses. many here would like to see authorities doing more to help. >> we are up to 200 ft. huns of sand that the local community has sourced themselves from donations. all the volunteers here have bagged and delivered by ourselves. we must be in the region of

7000, 8000 sandbags that we have filled ourselves and delivered. >> he has been coordinating forest defense efforts for weeks . he is backed up by volunteers from the immediate vicinity and from further afield. willing helpers have come from aid organizations in london and birmingham. >> we are countrymen, and as countrymen, we must stand shoulder to shoulder, and i'm proud to say that's exactly what has happened here. >> we work very closely and have built up a good friendship. i will be sad to see him go. >> very sad times. >> even when the volunteers have gone, the people of somerset will continue their efforts. they have launched an initiative collecting money for river dredging. they want to raise almost 5 million euros in the hope that this flood will be their last.

>> it was only 20 years ago that war was waging here in the european continent and what is today bosnia-herzegovina. bosniak's and croats fought against the serbs. since the end of war, the different ethnic groups have coexisted, but the division persists, and there is still division between the groups. life is not easy at -- easy in bosnia-herzegovina. also because unemployment is high. people have been taking to the streets in protest lately, not against each other this time, but against what they call corrupt politicians who they blame for the miserable situation the economy is in. >> he barely scrapes by, unemployed and living in poverty, and he is worried about the future. he and his wife worked for many years and a local detergent factory. she was a lab technician. when they started, bosnia was

part of socialist yugoslavia. then came the civil war and after 1995, the time of reconstruction. now the company is bankrupt. >> the politicians destroyed it -- not the workers or the people, the politicians. our oligarchs, these eves -- thieves. >> now in the 50's, the couple live off the pension her father receives. the bosnians have begun to protest against the poverty. >> come on, let's go. >> every day at 1:00, protesters gather in front of the government building. even if it's just a burned-out shell. the protests have turned violent. in early february, stone-throwing protesters stormed local government headquarters. older workers joined forces with

the younger generation. that's the first time that's happened in almost 20 years since the civil war ended in bosnia. in this multicultural state, politicians like to emphasize the ethnic differences between bosniaks, croats, and serbs. now people have had enough of these politicians. the peace agreement of 1995 divided the country into two political entities. one is a serb republic and the other a federation of bosniak sent croats. it self divided. local power interests helped draw the map. b 14 local governments and parliaments are divided along ethnic and party lines. this banner says the system gobbles up 70% of the tax revenues while 67% of young people are out of work. >> i have always been for one country without the two entities. for a bosniak-croat federation without cantons. i think the people of bosnia

could find a peaceful solution but not the politicians. >> many ethnic serbs might well see things differently, but the fact remains that very few people make more than 2000 euros a month while two and three bosnians live on less than 200 a month. this graffito says "stop nationalism." this old industrial city has not been kept from falling into ruin. these coworkers hope to save their factory from a similar fate. >> regarding the factory so it won't be destroyed -- we are guarding the factory so it won't be destroyed. we are even sleeping here. 10 or 12 people are here every night to make sure it does not alluded. -- does not get looted. >> after the years of management and decay, it seems questionable they will get their jobs back.

the bosnian spring was born out of desperation. >> there's the lab where i worked for more than 30 years. >> you were here for so long, and now all you see is dust everywhere. that's all. we earn a living from working here all our lives. now we do not even have enough to get by. >> now the protests have spread throughout bosnia-herzegovina and to the capital, stereo, where those in power openly flaunt their wealth. for nearly two decades, european union funding has gone to support the government, but very little has gone to create a functioning state. >> i think the way that international diplomacy works today -- and that is the same

thing for anywhere else where we are operating -- people who are democratically elected -- it's difficult not to talk to them. >> voter turnout in bosnia-herzegovina hovers around just 30%. the international community and the eu still exercise control in the form of the high representative for bosnia-herzegovina. graffiti on the administration building says, "so hunger -- "sow hunger, reap fury." i are organizing and leading government representatives out. >> finally, after 20 odd years, we brought accountability and transparency.

>> every item is put to a vote. it's grassroots democracy. civil war, bosnians of every ethnicity are getting ready to discuss the future of their country. many are hoping the protests will usher in a bosnian spring and break the political stagnation. some see it as the last chance for their ethnically fractured republic. >> europe's waters are overfished. in the mediterranean sea alone, close to 90% of stocks are in danger. the european union regularly sets strict quotas to replenish the stocks. it's hardly a surprise that the trawlers go deeper and deeper to catch fish. french trawlers who fish in the atlantic the sea waters are now meeting with increased criticism . environmental activists have fought against the sea fishing for years because it endangers the sensitive ecosystem hundreds of meters below sea level. but deep sea fish are also more

and more frowned upon by consumers, an uncomfortable situation for the fisherman. >> a storm sweeping over brittany is preventing trawlers from leaving, but the weather is not the only factor currently threatening the french fishing industry. the latest controversy relates to eat the halls -- to deep-sea hauls. environmental activists have dragged our professional standing through the dirt. they are fanatics, and it's not as if we have killed anyone. >> bernardin workers at the harbor trade in black scabbard fish, which live in the deep waters of the atlantic. this load arrives by truck.

it has come from scotland and has been on the road all night long. the trawlers, which belong to a company which is part of a french supermarket chain, have cleared their load in the far north. still, the fish is transported to france. >> the fish was sold en route. here is the buyer's ticket. >> the workers here will now prepare the boxes for delivery sometime between 3:00 and 4:00 in the morning. >> the issue is the method used to catch the deep-sea fish. kilometer long trawl nets are dragged along the seabed, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. >> many creatures in these deep waters have a particularly long lifecycle and do not reproduce easily.

it's an unknown world that contains vast numbers of species. like an underwater tropical rain forest. >> this underwater video shows the detrimental effects of trawling. the only economic advantage to this method is that it yields a large catch, but they cannot ask high prices for the deep-sea fish. >> i have a restaurant, and i offer a fish dish every day. for the people who come to eat there every day, i need good quality fish that is reasonably priced. >> small-scale breton traders generally sell fish and seafood from the waters around their own coast. the deep-sea fish don't even account for 10% of their produce

. nonetheless, there are real concerns in brittany about the effects of removing deep-sea fish from the product range. >> to suddenly stop selling certain species of fish would have a negative impact on our reputation as an important and dynamic market. it would be hard for new traders to set up, and some of those who currently operate might disappear. >> we have learned how to process these fish, and we know where to sell them. they are an important part of our range and important for our turnover. a reduction in turnover would ultimately jeopardize jobs. it's all very complicated. >> environmental activists argued they would prefer to see deep-sea fish left in the water and for less endangered species to be caught in their place, but france's fishing industry is unwilling to compromise.

>> the fishing lobby describes its methods as a french cultural asset, and we cannot make them listen to reason. europe cannot rely on france in this matter. when it comes to fishing rules, the french behave like bandits. >> france has a strong fishing lobby and has managed to stop the eu commission from banning deep-sea fishing in europe and several locations in the past. but environmental activists are beginning to gain support for their campaigns. several french supermarkets have taken deep-sea fish off their shelves, and restaurants have removed it from their menus. companies are feeling the pressure. >> the gentlemen are very busy. they have meetings all day today -- not only today, but all week. >> small traders are in a difficult position. the majority of what they sell comes from deep-sea fisherman from whom they also buy more coastal fish at a cheap rice.

they are not keen to change tack . >> some say there should be more fish from fish farms in the future, but we doubt that. it is our job to process fresh fish from the sea. >> breton fishers are well aware that the age of carefree mass fishing is over. the image of the deep-sea fisher has been tarnished. some have indicated a willingness not to trawl so deep , but that does nothing to change the fact that they would still be fishing in a place of untouched nature. >> the days are short, the nights are long -- yes, it's still winter in europe. in our series, europe by night, we look at how nocturnal life awakens on our continent after dusk.

the sun sets at around 5:00 p.m. in poland at the moment, which is pretty early, but that does not mean there is nothing to see in warsaw after sunset. on the contrary, there is a site, which is even more spectacular when it's dark. >> this story is something of a fairy tale. once upon a time, there was a wonderful royal palace in the city of warsaw. in summer, tourists flocked from far and wide to visit it, but there was a little problem -- in winter, when it gets dark early in poland, hardly anyone came to the palace. tourism experts thought long and hard about the problem, and then they saw the light. not just one light -- 150,000 lights. palace gardens were transformed into a labyrinth of like, and suddenly, in spite of the cold

weather, hundreds of thousands of people came -- palace gardens were transformed into a labyrinth of light. here's a first impression of what awaited them. motifs from lewis carroll's "alice in wonderland" on display. >> the place is in chanting and very romantic. with this wintry scene full of lights reflected in the snow, it's just wonderful. >> there are so many lights and everything is lit up. even the characters and letters. >> i tell my friends to come. the light affects the colors. it's wonderful. what a great idea. >> light warms people's hearts -- that might sound kitschy, and

perhaps it is, but visitors like it, and that's what counts. the initiators of the project aimed to stir people's emotions. >> in winter in particular, people do not expect to be hit with such intense emotions. the light installation generates chlorine is feelings. the culmination of light and music is the most wonderful thing there is, especially at this time of year. >> and then comes something that is unique in europe -- the garden of imagination. other palaces may have fountains spewing colored water. here, the cascades are produced with light. until now, spectacles like this have only been staged in japan. it's a feast for the eyes and a real draw.

>> this winter, people across poland are talking about the palace. foreign tourists have also discovered its attractions through word-of-mouth and social media, but the illuminated garden pales in comparison to this. here's what it looks like. >> the palace comes to life.

we integrate it into the projection. people, too. we show daily life in the palace and add sounds. the clopping of horses' hooves and carriages pulling up. this helps usher us into another world -- a magical place. >> the cat and everything was wonderful -- all the sounds and the music. for me, it was like they were almost real. >> we knew nothing about

mapping, but we were thrilled. it was a piece of living history . >> an incredible interplay of music and images. >> a live fairytale. >> the mapping, the labyrinth of light, and the garden of imagination -- all for an entrance fee of just two euros 50. tourists' dreams really do come true at the palace. >> those stunning pictures wrap up this edition of "european journal." from all of us here in brussels, thanks for watching. until next time, auf wiedersehen

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02/27/14 02/27/14 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from pacifica, this is democracy now! and could result in unintended and negative consequences. after weighing all of the arguments, i have vetoed senate bill 1062 moments ago. >> as arizona governor jan brewer because and anti-gay bill and a federal judge strikes down texas a same-sex marriage ban, we will speak with the legendary "star