Brussels Playbook Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Ep 145: Italian lessons — Democratic distancing — ONE Campaign's Gayle Smith Mar 27, 2020

Show notes

POLITICO's Silvia Sciorilli Borrelli in Rome shares her thoughts on what the rest of Europe can learn from Italy's response to the coronavirus. Our pan-European panel debates the challenges for democracy in the age of social distancing and examines the risks for the European project if countries hit hard by COVID-19 don't feel solidarity from their neighbors.

Gayle Smith, CEO of development NGO the ONE Campaign, was in Brussels a few weeks ago and shared her prescient views on the coronavirus, based on her expertise in international development and battling past epidemics. POLITICO's Lili Bayer also talks us through the potential impact of the crisis on the EU's ability to agree its next long-term budget.

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Coronavirus edition #2: European Commissioner Ylva Johansson — Vaccine confusion — 8 more weeks? Mar 23, 2020

Show notes

We hear from someone directly involved in the EU's response to the coronavirus crisis: Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson. The Swedish commissioner talks about the challenges of trying to keep the EU's internal borders open during the crisis — and sets out how her view of why that matters. Johansson, a member of the Commission's coronavirus task force, also voices her concerns about the impact COVID-19 could have on asylum seekers and migrants in camps on the Greek islands.

We also check in with POLITICO health reporters Sarah Wheaton, Carmen Paun and Jillian Deutsch. They fact-check statements on the timeline for a potential vaccine, look at whether European solidarity is kicking in when it comes to treating coronavirus patients and highlight the mental health struggles of people for whom COVID-19 is particularly dangerous. Plus, did Belgium's health minister really say the country faces 8 weeks of lockdown?

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Ep 144 In Focus: Energy, presented by Shell: Europe on hold — COVID-19 leadership — Energy battles Mar 19, 2020

Show notes

As COVID-19 paralyzes Europe, our podcast panel describes daily life right now in Paris, Berlin, London and Brussels. We also look at how Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel, Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen are leading in this time of crisis. Have they added to the confusion with mixed messages? And we share some ideas on how to survive the suspension of normal life.

The coronavirus eclipses everything these days but other big issues haven't gone away forever. Among them is Europe's energy future, and we'll be devoting special segments of our podcast to that topic over the coming months.

Earlier this month — in what now seems almost like a different world — the European Commission unveiled its flagship European Climate Law. Our reporters Kalina Oroschakoff and Aitor Hernández break down the five bruising battles that await Brussels in its attempt to slash EU greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.

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Coronavirus edition #1: Shutdowns & lockdowns — Europe's response — What airlines want Mar 16, 2020

Show notes

POLITICO brings you a special edition of the EU Confidential podcast focusing on the coronavirus crisis. This is the first in a series of extra episodes looking at the people, politics and policies shaping Europe's response to COVID-19.

After we recap a dramatic day of shutdowns and lockdowns, POLITICO health reporters Sarah Wheaton and Jillian Deutsch talk with EU Editor Andrew Gray about how the EU and different European countries are handling the pandemic. They also turn the spotlight on the leaders and organizations who have been handed a central role. And we discuss how to talk about the coronavirus — what's the right tone for a crisis like this?

We talk with our aviation expert Saim Saeed about the unprecedented toll the virus is taking on the airline industry. What's been the impact so far? And what do airlines expect from politicians so they can still put planes in the air whenever this crisis comes to an end?

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Ep 143: Italy in coronavirus lockdown — Elections in France — UK's Tom Tugendhat Mar 12, 2020

Show notes

Life under lockdown in Italy: This episode of EU Confidential leads off with a conversation with Silvia Sciorilli-Borrelli in Rome about how Italy's attempt to quell the spread of the coronavirus is impacting people's daily lives.

European Council President Charles Michel chaired a videoconference of EU leaders on Tuesday to try to get a grip on the coronavirus crisis. But was it too little, too late? POLITICO's Rym Momtaz (in Paris), Andrew Gray (in Brussels), Matt Kartnischnig (in Berlin) and Annabelle Dickson (in London) bring you the latest from their respective capitals. For France, that includes the question of whether local elections will go ahead and, if they do, how the outbreak could affect the result.

U.K. MP Tom Tugendhat, chair of foreign affairs committee in the House of Commons, talks to Annabelle about post-Brexit foreign policy, the EU's geopolitical role, Syria and the race to lead Germany's governing Christian Democrats.

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Ep 142, presented by Goldman Sachs: EU in crisis mode — Super Tuesday — Syrian doctor Amani Ballour Mar 05, 2020

Show notes

From Brussels, Berlin, Paris and London, we break down responses to the coronavirus across Europe. How are politicians and the general population in each capital reacting? Is there a coherent European response or is everyone doing their own thing?

We also analyse how European leaders are responding to the war in Syria and its repercussions at the Continent's borders. Does Europe have a serious plan to ease the suffering and prevent another big migration crisis?

And Super Tuesday election results in the U.S. have some European capitals hopeful for a change in presidential leadership — but would a post-Trump America be everything Europe wants it to be?

Our feature interview is with Syrian pediatrician Amani Ballour, who worked for six years in an underground hospital in her home country, treating victims of the war. Her story has been captured in an Oscar-nominated documentary called "The Cave." She visited Brussels to share her story and appeal directly to EU policymakers for more humanitarian aid.

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Ep 141: Europe's coronavirus response — Carnival & anti-Semitism — Valdis Dombrovskis interview Feb 27, 2020

Show notes

This episode of EU Confidential explores how Europe is responding to the coronavirus, with POLITICO's senior health reporter, Sarah Wheaton. We also take you to the Belgian city of Aalst, whose carnival celebrations have been widely condemned for anti-Semitism. POLITICO's Eddy Wax gets local reaction. And if you've ever wondered what superpower the European Commission's Valdis Dombrovskis would like to help him bolster "an economy that works for people," POLITICO's Bjarke Smith-Meyer asked him about that — and many other things, including how to square climate ambitions with economic growth.

Annabelle Dickson sheds light on the battle between Boris Johnson's top adviser and “the blob.” Rym Momtaz examines why there isn't more Western outrage and political action over attacks on the Syrian province of Idlib. And Matthew Karnitschnig gets us up to speed on the three candidates vying to become the next leader of Germany.

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Ep 140: EU's €1 trillion summit — Herman Van Rompuy — A digital vision Feb 21, 2020

Show notes

We go inside the special summit on the EU budget as leaders battle over plans likely to be worth more than €1 trillion over seven years. Among those sharing their thoughts with us: Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš, Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, Estonian Prime Minister Jüri Ratas and the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

Herman Van Rompuy, who negotiated the last long-term EU budget as president of the European Council seven years ago, tells us how these talks play out and shares his recollections of how he managed to strike a deal.

The EU wants a chunk of the next budget to be spent on digital policy and the European Commission set out its digital vision for the Continent this week. POLITICO's technology editor, Nicholas Vinocur, joins us to break down those plans.

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EU Confidential #139, presented by the Croatian Presidency: Munich Security Conference special Feb 16, 2020

Show notes

We go inside one of the world's top gatherings of political leaders, military commanders, ambassadors and policy experts — the Munich Security Conference. POLITICO's team of reporters analyzes the big topics to emerge from the conference, including the state of transatlantic relations, deep divisions in the West over China, Emmanuel Macron's worldview and the future of the European Union.

The show features interviews with senior German Green party MP Cem Özdemir, former U.S. ambassador to NATO Nicholas Burns, North Macedonia's Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov and European Commissioner Thierry Breton. POLITICO's EU Editor Andrew Gray guides you through the corridors and conference rooms of the Hotel Bayerischer Hof, with contributions from colleagues Stephen Brown, Laurens Cerulus, David Herszenhorn, Matthew Karnitschnig and Rym Momtaz.

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Ep 138, presented by the Croatian Presidency: German mess — 'Greta syndrome' — Anders Fogh Rasmussen Feb 13, 2020

Show notes

In the latest EU Confidential, ex-NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen weighs in on the future of European defense and the global artificial intelligence race. We also catch up with the new president of the European Committee of the Regions, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, on the biggest battle in town — over the EU's long-term budget.

Our podcast panel discusses the political demise of Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, leader of the ruling Christian Democrats and Angela Merkel's presumed successor as chancellor. Why did it happen and who will now take pole position in the race to replace Merkel? We also debate EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell's critical comments on youth climate activists, and look ahead to this week's Munich Security Conference. Look out for a special edition of the podcast on Sunday as the conference of world leaders, military chiefs and policy wonks wraps up.

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