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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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In this episode, host Sarah Wheaton is joined by Alessandro Ford, POLITICO’s agriculture reporter, to unpack how the prospect of lab-grown meat has riled up Europe’s farmers — threatening to upend the EU’s agriculture policy and lucrative subsidy program. Read Alessandro’s full story here.
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While the podcast takes a little break, we bring this insightful episode back into your feed — unpacking details of who votes for the far right in Europe. We unpack what drives voters to abandon the mainstream and more traditional party loyalties for the far right, and how poverty, or fear of it, motivates typical supporters of the AfD in Germany, Geert Wilders’ PVV in the Netherlands, or Chega in Portugal.
Host Sarah Wheaton is joined by POLITICO reporters Hanne Cokelaere, James Angelos and Aitor Hernández-Morales, who were recently dispatched to countries where far-right parties are gaining ground ahead of the recent European election.
Later on we have a fascinating conversation with Catherine de Vries, professor of political science and dean of international affairs at Bocconi University in Milan. Her research focuses on how economic hardship and problems with public services such as schools, health care or transport can fuel the far right.
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On our summer break, we're bringing this episode from January back into your feed by popular demand, looking at a crisis that is affecting many Europeans in most EU countries: skyrocketing rents and house prices, a shortage of flats, long waiting lists for social or affordable housing — commonplace problems from Greece to Luxembourg to Portugal.
Host Sarah Wheaton talks to POLITICO’s Aitor Hernández-Morales and Sorcha Edwards, secretary general of Housing Europe, about the causes of the crisis, its impact across the bloc (including far-right parties using it as an election platform), and solutions at the EU level. Are there any, given that housing is not an EU competence?
Then we hear from Dutch Green MEP Kim Van Sparrentak about housing challenges in her native Netherlands and her efforts to get the European Parliament and the Commission to get more involved in tackling the crisis. And Sarah speaks to Ans Persoons, secretary of state for the Brussels-Capital Region, who explains how the EU’s defacto capital is struggling to keep up with affordable housing demands.
And as mentioned in the show, here’s where you can read the article written by our guest Aitor Hernández-Morales, together with colleagues Jacopo Barigazzi, Barbara Moens and Giovanna Coi: How do you stop the rise of the far right? Build houses.
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Brussels might seem empty, but high-stakes games are afoot behind the scenes. From air-conditioned government suites (and the occasional vacation villa), leaders are working the phones, trying to convince European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to give their country the most prestigious posts in the EU executive.
In this week’s edition of EU Confidential podcast, host Sarah Wheaton is joined by Barbara Moens, POLITICO’s chief EU correspondent, to talk about how this complex political puzzle might be solved.
Next, we head to Paris, where senior correspondent Clea Caulcutt breaks down how the Olympics are affecting France’s chaotic politics — and the inside dish about why France’s rightwing was so angry about the edgy opening ceremony.
If you want more on von der Leyen's ways of operating, listen to the latest episode of our sister podcast "Power Play," hosted by Anne McElvoy: "Queen of Europe: The surprising side to Ursula von der Leyen"
Programming note: EU Confidential is on a break for the next two weeks, but we'll be bringing you some of our favorite episodes in your feed to get you through the summer lull.
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Is American politics giving you whiplash? This week’s episode of EU Confidential has all you need to cope, with primers on the foreign policy postures of Vice President Kamala Harris and JD Vance.
Dialling in from Washington, POLITICO National Security Reporter Eric Bazail-Eimil helps us understand who Harris will lean on when it comes to Europe, while Global Playbook author Suzanne Lynch recounts her interview with Vance on U.S. support for Ukraine.
Next, a literal trigger warning: We take you inside a training camp in Germany where Ukrainian soldiers are learning how to build trenches and raid buildings for urban warfare. With mysterious drones flying overhead and gunfire ringing in their ears, Senior Defense Reporter Josh Posaner joins Executive Producer for Audio Cristina Gonzalez for an immersive audio tour of this undisclosed location.
Further readings:
‘Invisible’ Kamala Harris struggles to win over Europe, by Suzanne Lynch and Ben Munster
Trump’s VP pick spells ‘disaster’ for Europe and Ukraine, by Suzanne Lynch
What a Kamala Harris foreign policy could look like, by Eric Bazail-Eimil, Joe Gould, Miles J. Herszenhorn and Phelim Kine
Mysterious drones keep watch as Ukrainians train in Germany, by Joshua Posaner and Cristina Gonzalez
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Big decisions awaited the new class of MEPs this week: Whether to back Ursula von der Leyen for a second term atop the Commission; which committee assignments to pursue; and, most urgently, which Parliament bar to visit to get away from it all.
Join host Sarah Wheaton for a romp through the Strasbourg seat of the European Parliament, and relive a week that was so crucial for Europe's direction over the next five years.
Sarah is joined by POLITICO's Eddy Wax, who takes us behind the scenes of all the horse-trading and political maneuvers during the week, in which the parliament's key leadership positions were decided and the legislature's support for von der Leyen was confirmed.
She also speaks to several MEPs including Hannah Neumann, a Green MEP from Germany who was reelected, and outgoing MEP Jan Zahradil — the long-serving (and sometimes controversial) Czech MEP, who reflects on his 20+ years in the Parliament and describes what has changed for Euroskeptic politicians in the hemicycle.
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Just days into his country's rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orbán again stunned other European leaders by setting off on a series of visits to Kyiv, Moscow and Beijing, styling himself as a peace negotiator with a mandate from Brussels.
Host Sarah Wheaton and POLITICO's chief EU correspondent Barbara Moens discuss Orbán's rough-and-tumble diplomacy tour and reactions it has provoked among the bloc's politicians and diplomats. But beyond angry tweets and statements clarifying that Orbán represents only his own country and not the bloc as a whole, are there other, more effective ways to rein in a leader whom is viewed as out of line?
Then we zoom in on Washington, where NATO leaders have gathered for their annual summit to celebrate the alliance's 75th anniversary and pledge continued support for Ukraine. Joining us from Washington is Stuart Lau, POLITICO's NATO correspondent.
Finally, we have a conversation with José Manuel Barroso, who previously led the European Commission for 10 years. He reflects on the results of the European elections and offers advice to Ursula von der Leyen and other European leaders on what can be done to boost people's support for EU integration.
Further reading and listening:
French election shocker: reaction and analysis, by Nicholas Vinocur, Marion Solletty and our Paris team
EU fumes at rogue Orbán, but struggles to rein him in, by Barbara Moens
Orbán parrots Putin’s lines on Ukraine in leaked letter to EU chief, by Csongor Körömi and Barbara Moens
Divided, reshuffled and politically bruised: Europe’s leaders head to the NATO summit by Stuart Lau and Laura Kayali
NATO backs Ukraine’s ‘irreversible path’, names China a ‘decisive enabler’ in Russia’s war, by Stuart Lau
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France has voted and the results are in — our POLITICO team in Paris discusses the surprising results of the final round of the parliamentary election in this special episode of EU Confidential.
Host Nicholas Vinocur is first joined by POLITICO's Victor Goury-Laffont to break down the results and explain how President Emmanuel Macron’s centrists and the left-wing alliance mobilized to stymie Marine Le Pen’s far right National Rally.
POLITICO's executive editor in France, Marion Solletty, joins the podcast to discuss where France goes from here.
We also hear from POLITICO's Giorgio Leali, calling in from the National Rally's election event, and Nicolas Camut, checking in from one of the left-wing alliance’s parties, France Unbowed.
We hope you enjoy this special episode of EU Confidential from Paris. We'll be back in your feeds on Friday, as usual.
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Just days before the final round of France's snap parliamentary elections, we discuss possible scenarios for what could emerge from the messy political situation in Paris: shiny new leaders, a shaky new government, rocky cohabitation — or even more chaos.
Host Sarah Wheaton talks to POLITICO's senior correspondent in Paris, Clea Caulcutt.
Later she's joined by former U.S. Ambassador to the EU Anthony Gardner and the director of the German Marshall Fund's Berlin office, Sudha David-Wilp. They break down the reactions of European leaders to President Joe Biden's poor performance in last week's debate with challenger Donald Trump, their doubts over Biden's prospects in November's election, and how Europe is approaching the possibility of Trump 2.0.
Finally, to mark the start of Hungary's presidency of the Council of the EU, we have a dispatch from POLITICO reporter Eddy Wax, who sailed down the Danube recently on a trip to Budapest.
If you're hungry for more election coverage, please tune in to POLITICO's Power Play, Westminster Insider and Politics at Jack and Sam's. This week they'll all be tackling the July 4 general election in the U.K.
Programming alert! A special episode with news and analysis on the results of the second round of the French elections will be delivered to your feed on Monday morning. Don't miss it!
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