Inside Europe: Ten Years of Turmoil (2019)

For the first time on television, David Cameron’s top advisers - including George Osborne and William Hague - reveal the discussions that led to the decision for which Cameron will go down in history: to hold an in/out referendum. The programme lifts the lid on the prime minister’s desperate attempts to get a new deal for Britain in Europe. Top leaders, including presidents Tusk, Juncker, Sarkozy and Hollande, reveal the details of their negotiations with Cameron. From beers in Prague to dinners at Chequers, the prime minister tries to convince his partners to give him something to show Britain can claw back power from Brussels – especially on immigration – but he keeps getting knocked back.

This episode takes us inside the room at crucial summits where leaders and their Ministers battle to avert financial disaster. At its heart is a clash between the cautious Angela Merkel and the feisty Nicolas Sarkozy over how to deal with the near bankruptcy of Greece. It is a story that sees billions of Euros being pumped into the economy, riots against austerity, and the election of Europe’s first populist government. The cast includes some of Europe’s most powerful figures, like Germany’s finance minister Wolfgang Schauble, UK chancellor George Osborne and the radical Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, as well as top leaders Donald Tusk, Francois Hollande and Matteo Renzi. As the EU’s most ambitious project, the Euro, teeters on the brink of collapse, Greece narrowly escapes being forced out.

This episode exposes how Europe’s leaders fought over how to deal with the migration crisis that reached its peak in the summer of 2015. As hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants arrive from North Africa and Syria, Europe divides. The decision by chancellor Angela Merkel, Europe’s most powerful leader, to keep Germany's borders open tests the fundamental principles of the EU to the limit. Top leaders, from Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker to prime ministers Matteo Renzi and Mark Rutte, and president Francois Hollande, reveal some of the biggest clashes the European Council has ever witnessed. As Europe is split over whether to share the burden of migrants or toughen up borders, a controversial deal with Turkey – aided by shutting down borders to keep migrants out of Europe – brings the crisis out of control. But the political damage is grave.