Behind the scenes of EU negotiationsThe climate: time for action

Power struggles, colossal stakes, wounded egos and plenty of suspense... this is the European Union as you've never seen it before. This two-part documentary series takes you behind the scenes of tense negotiations between the EU's 27 member states. The team was granted exclusive access to follow president of the European Council Charles Michel from 2019, and the resulting fascinating films tell the story of two historic negotiations: the EU's climate agreement and its €750 billion Covid-19 recovery fund. Featuring star turns from heads of state in this real-life political thriller, one member of the European Council press service said of the series: "In 30 years of working here, I've never seen a television crew have such access. Even I can't wait to see the film!"

This programme by Belgian broadcaster RTBF is part of the European Collection, a joint initiative from European public service media (ARD, ARTE, France Télévisions, SRG SSR, RTBF and ZDF), coordinated by ARTE.