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For the final episode of EU Confidential this year, we revisit a compelling discussion on the European Union’s waning influence in its eastern neighborhood, originally recorded in October. With a fresh wave of pro-EU and anti-government protests erupting in Georgia, this conversation is more relevant than ever and well worth another listen.
The episode examines the EU’s struggle to maintain its foothold in Moldova and Georgia, and explores how the ongoing war in Ukraine shapes voter sentiment. We also delve into the impact of Russian interference, domestic political dynamics and Brussels’ own missteps on the future of these countries.
EU Confidential host Sarah Wheaton leads the discussion with POLITICO reporters Eva Hartog, Gabriel Gavin and Veronika Melkozerova, offering insights into the challenges and high stakes at play.
Later in the episode, we shift focus to the inner workings of the European Commission’s restructured leadership. In a POLITICO Pro Connect session, top policy editors Joanna Roberts, Aoife White, Cory Bennett, Jan Cienski and Douglas Busvine explore the power dynamics within the Commission — who’s wielding real influence and who’s left with merely ceremonial roles.
The event was part of the POLITICO Pro Connect “In Conversation With” series, which you can learn more about here.
Further reading:
Moldova and Georgia ring alarm bells for the EU, by Gabriel Gavin and Eva Hartog
Pro-EU campaign won in Moldova despite ‘unfair fight,’ president says, by Gabriel Gavin
The man who bought a country, by Dato Parulava, Eva Hartog and Gabriel Gavin
"Ashes of Our Fathers. Inside the Fall of Nagorno-Karabakh," Gabriel Gavin’s book, will be released in January 2025.
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Politics are driving a growing culture of secrecy at the European Commission, warns European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly in this week’s episode of EU Confidential.
In an exclusive exit interview with host Sarah Wheaton, O’Reilly shares her frustrations over obtaining documents and holding European Union institutions to account. From Pfizergate to investigations into deadly migrant shipwrecks, the former journalist reflects on how her faith in the EU’s ideals has fueled her determination to ensure its institutions live up to them.
Her advice to her successor? Schmooze more.
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This week's episode of EU Confidential takes you inside the POLITICO 28 gala, where we revealed our list of the people who will drive the year ahead. Host Sarah Wheaton is joined by POLITICO Editor-in-Chief Jamil Anderlini and senior reporter Aitor Hernández-Morales to discuss how a vacuum in the EU's traditional power centers and growing disillusionment with traditional parties is giving rise to a new class of influential Doers, Dreamers and Disrupters in this year’s power ranking. Among them: EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who Sarah interviewed at this week’s P28 gala.
Be sure to check out the full 2025 ranking here.
Then, we’ll check in on Romania, where a court recently cancelled a presidential election that drove ultranationalist Călin Georgescu into the second round. The court cited malign interference on TikTok, but opposition figures say it’s just the establishment trying to hold on to power. POLITICO’s Carmen Paun and Pieter Haeck unpack how it’s playing out in Bucharest and Brussels.
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Finally. After months of paralysis, the new leadership team in Brussels is up and running. Then again, the power trio of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa and foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas might already be out of date, reflecting centrist majorities that don’t really exist anymore and pushing for support for Ukraine that’s already on the wane in the age of Donald Trump.
Host Sarah Wheaton is joined by POLITICO’s own power trio of reporters — Barbara Moens, Aitor Hernández-Morales and Nick Vinocur — to debate whether the new dynamic in Brussels can face the challenges ahead and avoid devolving into petty pitfalls like the so-called sofagate scandal.
Next, the latest installment of the Berlaymont Who’s Who series looks at Marta Kos, the new gatekeeper for aspiring European Union members.
Lastly, we listen in to a clip from our sister podcast Power Play about the political crisis in Paris. Anne McElvoy talks to POLITICO's Editor-at-Large in France Marion Solletty and Alexandre Kouchner, political analyst and lecturer at the Sciences Po university. Listen here to the full episode: "French connection: Trump meets Macron in free fall"
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Finally. After months of paralysis, the new leadership team in Brussels is up and running. Then again, the power trio of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa and foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas might already be out of date, reflecting centrist majorities that don’t really exist anymore and pushing for support for Ukraine that’s already on the wane in the age of Donald Trump.
Host Sarah Wheaton is joined by POLITICO’s own power trio of reporters — Barbara Moens, Aitor Hernández-Morales and Nick Vinocur — to debate whether the new dynamic in Brussels can face the challenges ahead and avoid devolving into petty pitfalls like the so-called sofagate scandal.
Next, the latest installment of the Berlaymont Who’s Who series looks at Marta Kos, the new gatekeeper for aspiring European Union members.
Lastly, we listen in to a clip from our sister podcast Power Play about the political crisis in Paris. Anne McElvoy talks to POLITICO's Editor-at-Large in France Marion Solletty and Alexandre Kouchner, political analyst and lecturer at the Sciences Po university. Listen here to the full episode: "French connection: Trump meets Macron in free fall"
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Romania’s presidential election delivered a TikTok-fueled political shock, with pro-Russia, far-right candidate Călin Georgescu winning the first round. His unexpected rise has stunned the establishment and raised serious questions about NATO, Ukraine, and Europe’s future.
EU Confidential host Sarah Wheaton speaks with former NATO spokesperson and Romanian native Oana Lungescu to unpack what Georgescu’s victory means for European security, and how Trump’s return to the White House could fuel the far-right and Euroskeptic wave spreading across the continent.
Later, POLITICO’s Max Griera breaks down the final vote on Ursula von der Leyen’s new European Commission and the backroom deals that made it happen, revealing shifting power dynamics in Brussels.
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While Donald Trump is filling out his top team, the EU faces a leadership vacuum. Thank Germany, where Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been on the phone with Vladimir Putin and faces gloomy prospects in likely snap elections. EU Confidential host Sarah Wheaton is joined by Gordon Repinski, POLITICO’s executive editor for Germany and host of the Berlin Playbook podcast, and Liana Fix, Europe fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, to unpack how domestic chaos in Berlin translates to transatlantic chaos for the rest of the bloc.
Then, Sarah checks in with Eric Bazail-Eimil, POLITICO.com’s expert on U.S. foreign policy, to learn more about Marco Rubio, Trump’s surprisingly conventional pick to serve as Washington’s top envoy. Are the sighs of relief in Brussels justified?
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Europe’s energy system is entering a period of radical change. The net-zero transition will require a significant overhaul of our infrastructure and our supply chains, right when geopolitical tensions are forcing the continent to find new sources of oil and gas and develop new networks of energy collaboration with allies. In this special podcast episode produced by POLITICO Studio for Equinor, we explore these changes and their impact on energy policy across the continent.
Vulnerabilities of Europe’s energy supply range from cyberattacks on energy infrastructure, to securing access to critical minerals – but crises can be turned into opportunities. Building overall energy resilience requires not independence, but interdependence, as countries pool resources to ensure security through international cooperation and diversified energy supplies that will bring them closer to net zero and secure long-term energy supply.
Hear from Alberic Mongrenier, executive director at the European Initiative for Energy Security; Jeppe Kofod, Denmark’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs; Evan Fuery, senior vice president for corporate security and crisis management at Equinor; and James Appathurai, assistant secretary general for innovation, hybrid and cyber at NATO, on the ambitious steps countries are taking to future-proof their energy systems.
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There were 26 hearings and 72 hours of questions, answers and non-answers — and in the end, none of it mattered. Politics clearly trumped policy as MEPs grilled the aspiring new commissioners, with partisanship reaching new heights.
EU Confidential host Sarah Wheaton unpacks the Commission confirmation hearings with some of POLITICO’s top policy journalists: Senior Reporter for Iberian Affairs Aitor Hernández-Morales; Senior Defense and Space Reporter Josh Posaner; Playbook co-author Eddy Wax; and Tech and Competition Editor Aoife White.
The panel separates the theatrics from the serious policy discussion, teases out how Europe is gearing up for Donald Trump’s second presidency (and how it is not), flags which of the bloc’s priorities are set to change, and speculates how new alliances in a right-leaning Parliament could reshape the EU.
And don’t miss the latest episode of our sister podcast, Power Play, coming to you this week from COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Host Anne McElvoy talks with Ali Zaidi, the White House National Climate Advisor, who shares his concerns about what might happen to the Biden administration’s climate legacy under a second Trump presidency. It’s worth a listen, here.
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After Donald Trump’s election victory, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is breaking out the Champagne. Germany’s government, meanwhile, is breaking up.
In this week’s episode of EU Confidential, we look at how Trump Round 2 is already reshaping European power dynamics. POLITICO editor-at-large Nicholas Vinocur dials in from Budapest, where Orbán is hosting European leaders for a strategy session on transatlantic relations. Then, host Sarah Wheaton hosts two high-ranking German MEPs, Parliament Vice President Katarina Barley and Foreign Affairs Committee Chair David McAllister for a debate about how to respond to Trump — and about the future of German politics.
Finally, as MEPs hold confirmation hearings for the European Commission nominees, the Berlaymont Who’s Who series continues with mini-profiles of Glenn Micallef and Ekaterina Zaharieva, care of tech reporter Pieter Haeck.
For more on Trump, and how he’ll transform America’s role in the world, check out the Power Play podcast from POLITICO: Trump returns: The whole world is watching.
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For a fresh view of the U.S. election in its final days — and what it means for Europe — this week’s episode of EU Confidential gets a ground-level take from the campaign trail. POLITICO’s Jakob Hanke Vela, usually based in Brussels, has been dispatched to the U.S. to meet voters and cover the campaign from a European perspective. Francesca Chambers, White House correspondent for USA Today, has been hitting the trail with Kamala Harris after covering the Obama, Trump and Biden presidencies.
They join host Sarah Wheaton to analyze the closing arguments of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, as well as to parse what’s quirky about campaigning in America — and what it has in common with other votes around the EU. (We’re all MAGA on migration now.) We also look ahead to potential ripple effects in Europe: Would another Trump White House be more of the same — or would it be Trump unchained?
You can find Jakob’s American dispatches here: https://www.politico.eu/section/dc-decoded/
Further reading:
Kamala Harris is warning Polish Americans not to vote for Donald Trump. Many will, by Emilio Casalicchio
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A vote that was supposed to be a slam dunk in favor of the EU turned into a nail-biter: barely 50 percent of Moldovans backed the country’s accession ambitions in last week’s referendum. Does a massive Russian interference campaign of vote-buying and lies explain the result — or is Brussels’ tepid support for Ukraine’s resistance to Russian aggression also to blame? Ahead of a vote with similar stakes in the Republic of Georgia, EU Confidential host Sarah Wheaton is joined by POLITICO reporters who’ve lived and traveled extensively in the region: Eva Hartog, Gabriel Gavin and, dialing in from Kyiv, Veronika Melkozerova.
Next, we listen in on a POLITICO Pro Connect session (usually off the record and invitation- only) with our top policy editors unpacking the Commission’s new “Jenga tower” structure. Policy Editor Joanna Roberts discusses which commissioners have actual power — and which just have fancy titles — with Aoife White, Cory Bennett, Jan Cienski and Douglas Busvine.
The event was part of POLITICO Pro Connect “In Conversation With” series, which you can learn more about here.
Further reading:
Moldova and Georgia ring alarm bells for the EU, by Gabriel Gavin and Eva Hartog
Pro-EU campaign won in Moldova despite ‘unfair fight,’ president says, by Gabriel Gavin
The man who bought a country, by Dato Parulava and Eva Hartog
Ashes of Our Fathers. Inside the Fall of Nagorno-Karabakh, Gabriel Gavin’s book, will be released in January 2025.
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This week’s episode of EU Confidential is a show about nothing.
As in: Brussels’ endless lame-duck inertia. Sure, there’s still lots of yadda yadda yadda, but no real action coming out of the EU institutions despite multiple global crises (leaders at this week’s EU summit discussed migration, sure, but left Brussels having taken no concrete decisions on how to tackle it).
Host Sarah Wheaton dissects the reasons for the hold-up — and why it matters — with POLITICO’s Barbara Moens and Nick Vinocur, as well as with Aaron McLoughlin, a seasoned Brussels lobbyist with deep experience working in the Parliament and the Commission.
Meanwhile, there’s lots happening in the U.S. ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election. Earlier this week, POLITICO Live and the American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union hosted a debate about what candidates Kamala Harris or Donald Trump could mean for Europe. Facing off: former Republican Congressman Jack Kingston; Finnish MEP Aura Salla; and Bart M.J. Szewczyk, a former State Department official and Biden-Harris campaign insider. We bring you a juicy recap.
Finally, our Berlaymont Who’s Who series looks at the unusual political trajectory of Belgium’s commissioner-designate, Hadja Lahbib, and her dual responsibility for crisis management and equality.
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Buckle up. This week on the EU Confidential podcast, we’re talking cars. And a looming trade war.
European Union countries are split over whether it’s a good idea to take on Beijing and use duties to hit the brakes on China’s booming (and heavily subsidized) electric car industry. At the same time, the EU is trying to shift to greener cars. Seems contradictory? It is. Abigaël Vasselier of the Mercator Institute for China Studies joins POLITICO’s Koen Verhelst and Jordyn Dahl to sort it all out, with host Sarah Wheaton.
Next, POLITICO’s Max Griera brings us inside the dramatic confrontation at the European Parliament with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, along with highlights from his interview with Orbán’s upstart new challenger, Péter Magyar.
Further reading:
China’s hit at EU brandy sparks fear of all-out trade war, by Camille Gijs, Koen Verhelst and Judith Chetrit
EU countries overcome German resistance to back duties on Chinese EVs – POLITICO, by Koen Verhelst and Hans von der Burchard
A trip across Europe in an electric car, one charge at a time, by Jordyn Dahl
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In this week’s episode of EU Confidential, we tackle the complex forces shaping Europe’s future — where political shifts, migration and escalating conflict in neighboring regions are all colliding. As tensions in the Middle East intensify, POLITICO's Opinion Editor Jamie Dettmer reports from Tel Aviv, breaking down the situation on the ground and the prospect of an all-out war in the region.
We then shift focus to Austria, where the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) secured a significant election victory on a “Fortress Austria” platform. Host Sarah Wheaton and Theresa Kuhn, professor of modern European history and politics at the University of Amsterdam, discuss what drove voters to the FPÖ and how Austria joins a growing bloc of European Union countries where far-right parties are reshaping the political landscape. What could this mean for Europe’s broader approach to migration?
The episode also continues our "Berlaymont Who’s Who" miniseries, with Kathryn Carlson, our financial regulation reporter, introducing Magnus Brunner, Austria's former finance minister, who could soon become the EU’s next commissioner for migration.
Plus, our NATO correspondent Stuart Lau sits down for an exclusive interview with former NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
Further reading:
Israel sends troops into Lebanon — but its real target is Iran, by Jamie Dettmer
Israel risks a long fight in Lebanon, by Jamie Dettmer
Israel vows ‘consequences’ for Iran after missile barrage, by Jamie Dettmer
NATO’s Stoltenberg has parting words for Europe: Don’t fear Trump, work with him, by Stuart Lau
Sorry, Mark Rutte, there’ll be no honeymoon at NATO, by Stuart Lau
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Volodymyr Zelensky has just four months. That’s the time left until U.S. President Joe Biden leaves office. After that, who knows what’s going to happen. And that means uncomfortable questions for the EU, too.
This week’s edition of EU Confidential tracks the Ukrainian president’s recent journey to the U.S. We start off in Kyiv, where POLITICO’s Veronika Melkozerova recounts meeting Zelensky as he gave reporters a sneak peek of his “Victory Plan.” (Security is tight — even lipstick needs a close check.)
Then we unpack his lobbying mission to the White House and the U.N. General Assembly. Jan Cienski, POLITICO senior policy editor; Dave Brown, defense editor at POLITICO US; and Olga Oliker, program director for Europe and Central Asia at International Crisis Group join host Sarah Wheaton to discuss the political and strategic debates playing out in the U.S. and the EU.
We also listen in on Suzanne Lynch’s interview with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. For more, subscribe to POLITICO’s Global Playbook newsletter.
Next, we continue our Berylamont Who’s Who series with mini-profiles of commissioners-designate Raffaele Fitto (Meloni’s man in Brussels) and current EVP Maroš Šefčovič (the EU’s Mr. Fix-it).
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Live from Strasbourg… and Paris… and Berlin… and London, it’s EU Confidential. In this week’s episode, we catch you up on a dizzying week of news. We start with the inside dish on Thierry Breton’s high-drama departure from the European Commission, followed by analysis of who’s really in charge now that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has debuted her new team, with POLITICO’s Marion Solletty and Eddy Wax. Host Sarah Wheaton also sits down with current (and likely future) climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, and we debut our new series of mini-profiles, Berlaymont Who’s Who, with an introduction to Kaja Kallas, the EU’s next foreign policy chief.
And that’s not all: Migration is roiling domestic politics around the bloc. POLITICO’s Hans von der Burchard and Rosa Prince talk about how the left-leaning leaders of Germany and the U.K. are taking cues from the far-right on keeping migrants out.
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While Brussels has been obsessed recently with the “Draghi report,” that’s NOT the topic of this week’s episode. We will, however, discuss WHY Brussels is so besotted. (Spoiler alert: It's because Europe’s economy is broken.)
Host Sarah Wheaton talks to POLITICO’s Carlo Martuscelli and Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING Think, about why the EU is falling so far behind big competitors like the U.S. and China; as well as about the political factors that got us here — and are keeping us stuck.
We also check in with POLITICO’s chief EU correspondent, Barbara Moens, about the bottlenecks impeding the new Commission leadership; and with senior correspondent Clea Caulcutt in Paris about French Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s biggest challenge since Brexit.
Further readings:
Mario Draghi’s plan to fix a broken Europe already looks impossible, by Carlo Martuscelli
Europe’s new normal: High energy bills, fading industry and one chance to fix it, by Carlo Martuscelli and Victor Jack
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It’s been a particularly chaotic rentrée for Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. In this week’s episode of EU Confidential, we talk about the mad dash to name the new slate of commissioners, while getting the right balance of politics, geography, gender and expertise. Host Sarah Wheaton is joined by POLITICO’s Chief EU Correspondent Barbara Moens and Policy Editor Joanna Roberts to look at the hot button issues on the agenda and consider how European voters’ call for a rightward shift in June could be reflected in policy — or not.
Also, from the Berlin bureau, Nette Nöstlinger shares the top takeaways from Alternative for Germany’s historic victory in regional elections. And Tech Reporter Pieter Haeck looks at the trend of banning smartphones in the classroom and what Brussels can do to boost kids’ mental health.
Further readings:
5 takeaways from Germany’s eastern elections, by Nette Nöstlinger
Belgian schools launch crackdown on smartphones, by Pieter Haeck
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In this episode of EU Confidential, we speak to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Anne Applebaum. Her latest book, "Autocracy Inc.," explores how authoritarian regimes are banding together against democracies, including EU countries.
But first, we look ahead to local elections in three eastern German states, where extreme parties on both the right and the left are poised to make historic gains as migration dominates the headlines.
Host Sarah Wheaton and POLITICO’s Berlin news editor, James Angelos, dive into Germany’s “left conservatism” standard-bearer Sahra Wagenknecht and how her party is reshaping the political landscape, alongside surging support for the far-right Alternative for Germany.
Further reading:
Is Germany’s rising superstar so far left she’s far right?, by James Angelos
Migration smashes into German elections after deadly knife attack, by Nette Nöstlinger
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