>> 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 cup what's coming up in today's show -- france, why it's dangerous for amateurs to climb him long. bulgaria -- why the church won't let go of former communist spies. and spain -- life in europe's biggest slum. a new president is due to be elected in ukraine in roughly

two months time, but until then, the struggle for power in the country is likely to continue, as is the tug-of-war over the country as a whole. the russian government is sticking to its interpretation of the events and says the new interim government in ukraine seize power illegitimately through a constitutional coup. western countries, on the other hand, are supporting the opposition, which is now in charge in etf, but within that group on their are elements which are not exactly known for their beliefs and democratic values. -- dmitry addresses the crowd, saying "all hail to the ukrainian heroes. the hated president has fallen." the protesters who emerged victorious on independence square come from many different backgrounds. >> we, the right sector, call upon all the people here to continue the fight against the regime and oppression. glory to ukraine.

>> many ukrainians are listening. the troop of a few hundred men are active fighters in the protest movement. they see themselves as it's real defenders, at the forefront during the nights of violent street clashes. the longer president viktor yanukovych clung to power, the more violent the men got. they would not even answer to the opposition leader. the right sector is not a party but an alliance of far right and nationalist groups. they brought arms, ammunition, and paramilitary training to the street battles. on the internet, the right sector style themselves as the spearhead of the protest movement. they invoke the ukrainian nationalist tradition and to announce both russian domination and western patronization and decadence. they glorify the unity and greatness of the ukrainian nation.

they say the battle has only just begun. the right sector includes a number of neo-nazis who openly parade their ideals. with fascist emblems on their shields and plastered on walls. one of the most radical of the far right groups is c 14. they have occupied the former kiev headquarters of their enemies, the communist party. >> some ethnic groups have controlled business structures, some economic, some political forces. russians and jews -- they may be a non-ukrainian crew. >> the party of the far right is the freedom party. its leader once played fast and loose with anti-russian at pessimistic rhetoric, but now he no longer defines his targets quite that clearly. these days, he talks about anti-ukrainian forces that have to be fought.

the blend of right-wing populism and nationalism is his recipe for success. followers are concentrated in ukraine's west. emissaries have already been seeking contact with european union representatives, even renting an office with a view to establishing the parties presence in brussels -- the party's presence in russia. i have also sought contact to the far right national democratic of germany, paying a visit to mp's in saxony. after viktor yanukovych was ousted, the party claimed receipts in the interim cabinet of the new prime minister including agricultural minister and deputy prime minister. the right sector is entering the political arena as well with the announcement of a candidate for president. the target as best the target of

his verbal attacks is moscow. >> i ask the people crimea to do everything in the power to oust flatter me prunes dictatorial regime. >> the mass protest movement achieved its aim at a high price in human life. now, the far right fighters are demanding their cut of the spoils. >> faster, further, higher. there seem to be no limits to what people are prepared to do when they try out new extreme sports, and recreational athletes are also taking more and more risks day and night. montblanc in the french italian alps is the highest mountain in western europe. it has been attracting mountaineers from all over the globe since the 18th century, though dozens of people are

killed each year trying to climb the mountain, it is very popular and attract a rising number of amateur athletes. we met some four-hour series, europe by night. to reach the summit, they spent a night on the mountain and set off or the peak before dawn. >> it's 3:00 in the morning. we are at almost 4000 meters elevation. climbers are getting ready to leave the alpine mountain hut to attempt the ascent. today, there are about 100 climbers from all over the world . naomi and andrew are from australia. they also geared up to make the five-our climb. >> why not? it's the tallest mountain in europe. >> it's an easy mountain for someone to do by themselves without a guide. one more. bye-bye, naomi. ok, ready. let's do it.

>> andrew and naomi have a 1000-meter climb ahead of them. they took a five-day climbing course in peru, and they think that will be enough to master montblanc. but many underestimate the difficulty of the climb. it is extremely arduous, requiring the strength and conditioning of a marathon runner. there's also sudden storms and bad weather, avalanches and crevices in the glacier to contend with. over the past 10 years, more than 200 people have died in the mountain range. meanwhile, down in the valley, it's last call in the cubs. the tourists enjoy living it up, but the mayor here is in no mood to celebrate. too many people lose their lives on montblanc. >> a russian woman was left up

there by her fellow climbers because she could not make it back down. by the time the rescue crew reached her, she was dead. things like this should not happen. >> there's little talk of tragedies nearby. bad news is bad for business. the sporting equipment shops, hotels, and pubs rely on the throng of tourists to survive. they are here for montblanc, even if they do not land to climate. >> it's a wonderful view. it's the rooftop of europe. i've been up there four times, and it was not all that long ago. >> but do you want to go up to the top? >> and do what? no. no climbing, no skiing. too scary.

>> on this crisp morning, no torrents will make it up to the top. it's far too dangerous with wind gusts of more than 80 kilometers an hour and temperatures of -25 degrees celsius. naomi and andrew also stopped at the last alpine hut for the peak . naomi is chilled to the bone, but they still don't want to give up. >> we really want to make the summit. >> waiting up here at a height of or thousand 400 meters can be extremely dangerous. outages agnes can cause fluid to build up in the lungs and brain -- altitude sickness. some tourists even spent several nights in the hut hoping to finish the climb. the mayor says that's a mistake. >> it has become a consumer item. people come the way they go to the movies or take a walk in the park. it has become something banal, a

product sold in travel agencies. it's all about the money, so we end up with these problems. >> he wants to limit the number of tourists allowed on the mountain and require them to be accompanied by an experienced mountain guide. but most everyone else in the valley rejects the idea of stricter rules. even the head of mountain rescue is opposed. >> it's a legend. people come here from all over the world to make the climb. should we tell them that we are going to build a cable railway to the top? then we would see a lot fewer torus here -- tourists here. >> naomi and andrew finally decide to head back down the mountain. they are disappointed they did not make it.

>> we were very cold. the tour guides and everybody said it was crazy to continue because the wind is so strong and the richness is steep though we would not come back. >> all the mountains we have climbed up probably about -52 minus eight -- minus five two minus eight. >> some others managed to stick up the night. the next day, some of the climbers make it to the top of montblanc. later, they will boast of their experience and draw even more torus to venture the dangerous climb. >> bulgaria has been a member of the eu for seven years now. since then, the files of the former secret service have been opened. that means it's easy to find out

names of people who collaborated with the state police during communist times in bulgaria. yet, that transparency does not seem to have made any difference so far. one and a half years ago, the bulgarian parliament shot down a draft law, which would have and former communist spies from working in public institutions. it's not the only area where there's a lack of interest in confronting bulgaria's communist past. the orthodox church is also reluctant to deal with it. >> the bulgarian orthodox church holds a lavish service in the landmark cathedral. it's been one year since patriot neophyte was installed as head of the orthodox church. yet, shortly before his appointment, newly released files had exposed him and 10 other orthodox church heads as informants full bulgarian state security under the communist regime.

a few kilometers away, orthodox priests perform a service at the memorial to the victims of communism. they have announced their church's leadership out of her test. the high clergy, for their part, stays away for -- from the memorial. the priest paid for his anti-communist convictions with five years in bulgarian prisons. to this day, he does not know who spied on him. >> they starve the people there or just kill them off and sadistic ways. they were all my brothers in the struggle against the communist dictatorship. but this memorial was not put up until 2012. even then, there were politicians who ridiculed it.

even the church wanted nothing to do with the memorial. to this day, the services we hold in the chapel here are not officially recognized. >> the archives of the committee on disclosure of the state security documents encompass 14 kilometers of documents. somewhere among them are the files on leading church figures, but the church has refused to cooperate and even tried to obstruct the commission's work. the church also refuses interviews. the archive foster rector is not surprised. >> in the meantime, we found dossiers on three more orthodox bishops, but our hands are tied. all we can do is inform the bulgarian people. by law, we cannot charge anyone. the bishops are free to react to the exposure as their conscience dictates, but so far, no one has

shown any remorse. >> cooperation between the bulgarian church and the communist regime had a long tradition. exhibits at the museum for totalitarian art hint at how cozily the high clergy was in bed with the top political brass even after church property had been nationalized and many christian holidays had been all but prohibited. the authorities tolerated only a few orthodox rights. the communist authorities made systematic use of the church. >> the secret service's collaborators in the church did great harm to the society. some bishops failed to stand behind their priests or defend them. on the contrary, often, they informed state security where church weddings or funerals were taking place.

they even went so far as to hand over the church registers to them. >> after the end of communism, some clergy got cozy with the oligarchs who called the shots in bulgaria's new market economy. the bishop of the city, another former collaborator, was accused of having been involved in several illicit activities. the holy man was known for his taste in expensive limousines. 2013, he was found dead on a black sea beach. a priest in the diocese who had criticized the behavior of his superiors for years was expelled from the church. now, a nearby pub holds services in a makeshift house of worship. many churchgoers support his call for a new beginning.

>> these bishops have lost their faith. the list of collaborators prove the entire leadership of the orthodox church was in the pocket of the secret police. their arrogance proves that they are not willing to change, that they will stay the way they have always been -- cogs in a corrupt political system. >> in sofia, this father agrees. the memories of a life under the scrutiny of church and formers are very much alive. sometimes, they overwhelm him and his wife. the day he was born in 1945, his father was arrested. he only got to know his father 14 years later, only to be condemned himself i the communists and his father died in 1972.

>> we were tortured with cigarette butts and beaten with sandbags. worst of all was that i was not allowed to attend my father's funeral, yet, the church's collaborators were doing very well, and they have gone unpunished to this day. i don't want to pass judgment on them. i'm sure god will do that. >> 25 years after the end of communist rule, the former secret service collaborators are still working in state institutions. as provided by law in bulgaria. a secular law that seems to have the backing of the orthodox church. >> if there was a way to open the doors of all the houses currently standing empty in the european union to all of the continent's homeless, there were

no longer be any homeless -- that's according to a british newspaper. it says 11 million houses are vacant, which, statistically speaking, means three vacant homes for every homeless person, and yet, it does not write work like that. in big cities especially, property is increasingly seen as an investment rather than living space. this has pushed up property prices, driving a growing number of people who earn little to the edge of cities like madrid. in the course of the last few decades, europe's biggest slum has emerged on the outskirts of the spanish capital. >> this muddy track takes us from the heart of spain to a site usually associated with developing countries. susanna knows her way around. she is a social worker for a local ngo. this used to be a cattle herding trail. now it is a 16-kilometer-long

shantytown. >> tens of thousands of people live here. the first were farmworkers from and illusion -- from andalu sia. it was permitted because no one was using the cattle trail anymore. >> it's just a 20-minute drive from downtown madrid. its inhabitants today include immigrants from north africa and elsewhere. more recent residents include spaniards who lost their homes in the financial crisis. the slum has its own residency rules. inhabitants can buy, sell, or rent the illegally constructed housing from each other. she came a long time ago with her mother and is now raising her own children here. she says she lives a normal life, despite the bad reputation for drugs and crime.

>> when friends asked me where i live, i always live because this has such a bad reputation. >> lordes receives welfare payments, but she and her children have to go out collecting recyclable cardboard to get by. there's no way they could rent an apartment at madrid prices. >> we heard there were these huts, these houses, and that it's easy to find somewhere to live. >> the municipal services run regular garbage collections in an attempt to keep down the mess , and electricity supply has been hardwired by residents. the power companies turn a blind eye. >> the setup up is extremely precarious and illegal. in wintertime, when madrid uses

more power, the electricity is cut off here. in summer, when water usage is highest, it runs out here, so there are often times when they are without water or electricity here. >> in some places, the shantytown runs up against newly developed residential areas. for many there, it's an eyesore that has to go. for the last 10 years, a citizens group has been calling for the slum to be turned into a park and its residents resettled across madrid. >> it's a ghetto. what happened to integration? this is the 21st-century. this has to be sorted out and given a different look. it's all out of control. >> so far, every attempt to flatten this land has failed. for every house that is demolished, another springs up,

and the residents also fought that. lotus -- lordes recalls serious clashes with the police. so far, no one has challenged her right to a home, though. she said she does not know how she would cope if they did. >> am afraid they will demolish my house without offering a solution. we need somewhere to go. after all, we are people, too. we will not allow them to turn us out on the street. we are registered citizens. our children go to school here. we have rights. >> local authorities have come to accept the impossibility of completely removing the settlement. here in rivas, they want to build hopper roads -- proper roads and turn it into a regular district, but even that will require the resettlement of most of the slum's inhabitants. >> the city needs more mixing. the people need to live normally

with other inhabitants and not be pushed to the edges. as far as the partner us is concerned, we think that 20% at most of the current population can stay. >> ironically, there is plenty of empty accommodation in madrid. when spain's real estate bubble burst, it left hundreds of buildings vacant, but the hastily erected properties belong to banks that are reluctant to let them out to welfare recipients. >> some of the people will leave if they are guaranteed social housing. or if they can afford to rent an apartment themselves. there are people like that here, too. then, the houses in the huts will be demolished, and a town will be built. anyone will be able to stay if they can fulfill the requirements of the local authorities.

>> she says such prospects give her hope even if she has lived here most of her life. >> i would not mind leaving, but it would be a different life. maybe we would not feel as at home as we do here. >> it's far more than its image of drug dealers and criminals, and she wants people to see the shantytown for what it really is -- a symptom of spain's failure to provide affordable housing or its citizens. -- for its citizens. >> that report wraps up this edition of "european journal." don't forget, you can watch all our reports again online. the address is dw.de/ europeanjournal. for now, from all of us in brussels, ex so much for watching. do join us next time if you can.

-- thanks so much for watching. do join us next time if you can. until then, auf wiedersehen and bye for now.

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