Is Europe winning the ‘fight’? Von der Leyen’s SOTEU, one year on
When Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivered her State of the European Union speech last year, the backdrop was chaotic. Russian...
Radio and PodcastLive Radio & Podcasts
News & Politics
POLITICO's EU Confidential
The inside track on the EU and European politics.
Episodes
20 of 634 episodes
Behind Trump's push to break the International Criminal Court
The U.S. is on a public campaign to dismantle the International Criminal Court. Now, it wants help from its NATO allies. During a closed-doo...
The EU’s Israel dilemma
Relations between the EU and Israel have been deeply strained over the war in Gaza. But the bloc is struggling to withstand the allure of Is...
Kaja Kallas takes another hit
The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, wanted a group of heavyweight former leaders to come up with fresh ideas to address Europe’s defense gap...
Germany's far-right bombshell
After a sweeping victory in the regional elections in Saxony-Anhalt, Ulrich Siegmund's Alternative for Germany (AfD) could be in a position...
What do Spain's migrant crisis and Germany's knife-edge election mean for Europe?
The Spanish exclave of Ceuta on the North African coast is struggling to deal with a surge of unauthorized migrants. Over 70,000 arrived in...
Dublin tests Europe's budget red lines
At the informal General Affairs Council in Dublin today, the EU’s next 7-year budget is set to dominate the agenda. The talks are still in d...
The plan to shut out Europe's far right
The political center in the European Parliament is looking increasingly fragile. Zoya Sheftalovich and Ian Wishart look at a proposal from t...
Europe gears up for its China counterpunch
Brussels is getting increasingly worried about its economic relationship with Beijing ... but the bloc doesn’t want to bring out the big gun...
What Iceland's 'no' means for the EU
Iceland has voted no to restarting membership talks with the EU in a referendum held over the weekend. While the yes camp had hoped rising g...
Could Orbán lead Hungary again?
For 16 years, Viktor Orbán exerted an iron grip on Hungarian politics and society. Now it’s being dismantled. Has Hungary finally turned a p...
Can Canada teach Europe how to stand up to Trump?
Canada is taking a much harder line against Donald Trump — and Brussels is watching closely. As the U.S.-Canada trade war escalates, Zoya Sh...
France and Germany collide over Europe’s industrial future
France and Germany are clashing over how far the EU should go to protect European industry — with Paris pushing stronger “Made in Europe” ru...
Costa tours the capitals — while Merz rallies the penny-pinchers
António Costa is kicking off a tour of EU capitals to find out what leaders want from the bloc’s next seven-year budget — and what they migh...
What Ukraine needs to survive another winter
We’re back! And so are Ukraine’s key backers. On the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union, leaders meet in Kyiv...
Week Ender archives: Is China the ‘abusive’ partner the EU just can’t quit?
The Brussels Playbook Week Ender podcast is still away on holiday — but don’t worry, we will be back next week. In the meantime, here’s an e...
Week Ender archives: Can Europe quit American Big Tech?
This week and next, the Brussels Playbook Week Ender podcast is away for the summer holiday. So, we thought we’d re-up this popular installm...
Week Ender: Verhofstadt on "Trumpism", plus summer must-reads
It’s August in Brussels, which means it’s vacation time. Whether you’re heading off to the beach or holding down the fort in town, this epis...
Why are Commission staffers so miserable?
Working at the European Commission is one of the most coveted civil service jobs in Brussels. Yet, officials employed there describe high pr...
Europe's Palantir problem
Europe wants to kick its U.S. tech habit, but it’s struggling to detangle itself from American data analytics firm Palantir. The problem is,...