Talking Europe hosts Italian former prime minister Enrico Letta, who is now president of the Jacques Delors Institute. Letta has been tasked by the European institutions to produce a report on the future of the EU single market, which is due to be discussed by the bloc’s leaders next spring. He argues that the single market is under pressure from inside and outside, and that common solutions need to be found. He also calls for a “tailor-made” Stability and Growth Pact to take account of nuances between EU member states, as well as the impact of the crises that the EU has faced in the last three years.

In this debate we focus on the recent election results in Poland and Slovakia, and discuss what they mean for Europe. Liberals across the continent are cheering after Polish opposition parties won enough seats to form a majority, potentially ending eight years of rule by the conservative Law and Justice party. Meanwhile nationalists in Europe have applauded the return to power of Robert Fico in Slovakia. The populist prime minister has struck an agreement with two other parties; a coalition that could set a different tone in relations with Brussels, as well as on key issues such as Ukraine and migration.

At least one person has died and more than a million households were left without electricity in France on Thursday morning as Storm Ciaran struck western Europe overnight, bringing some of the highest wind speeds the region has witnessed in decades.

France has placed three departments in western France on red alert as Storm Ciaran is expected to hit the country’s northwest on Wednesday evening and warned residents in the departments concerned to avoid any travel overnight.

French President Emmanuel Macron heads to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan on Wednesday, aiming to boost France’s profile in a region where Russia, China, Turkey and Europe are all jostling for influence.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday his government plans to enshrine abortion rights in the constitution to make them “irreversible”.