Brussels Playbook Podcast

Latest Episodes:

SPONSORED CONTENT: As farms go digital, possibilities for decarbonization grow Oct 07, 2019

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In the special branded episode of EU Confidential Goes Green by Bayer: The episode focuses on digital tools being used on European farms, and the new technologies that are around the corner. Featuring interviews with Jan Huitema, a Dutch MEP and farmer, Daniel Azevedo, a director with farming association Copa Cogeca, and Philipp-Andreas Schmidt, head of Global Digital Farming Policy & Public Affairs at Bayer, they discuss technology, sustainability and the future of European agriculture.

The panelists throw the old image of a bucolic farm disconnected from the modern world out the window. We learn about new tools that are predicting crop yield, tracking livestock and maximizing efficiency. The changes can lead to big improvements in sustainability. Listen to these insights and more.

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Ep 120, presented by ExxonMobil: Boris’ Brexit proposal — Latvia’s Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš Oct 03, 2019

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On our latest episode of the new EU Confidential, POLITICO's Annabelle Dickson unpacks Boris Johnson's new Brexit plan. Meanwhile in Brussels, confirmation hearings for new European Commissioners are well underway. Incoming Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has already lost two members of her team. Will more follow? And POLITICO's chief Europe correspondent Matt Karnitschnig calls in from his U.S. tour to report on how the Continent is viewed from the other side of the Atlantic these days.

Our feature interview is with Latvia’s Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš. The businessman-turned-politician has been taking on an increasingly prominent role within the European People’s Party (EPP). He was one of two EPP coordinators charged with negotiating who should get the top EU jobs after the European Parliament election. Kariņš tells POLITICO’s Bjarke Smith-Meyer how he envisions change for the EPP. His message in short: Go green or die.

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Ep 119, presented by the European Commission: Von der Leyen’s rejection woes — Labour’s Keir Starmer Sep 26, 2019

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This week’s episode takes us to London, New York and around the Continent. We start in Brussels, where members of the European Parliament rejected the Romanian and Hungarian nominees for the next European Commission over concerns about potential conflicts of interest.

Just back from the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Rym Momtaz takes us behind the scenes of Emmanuel Macron’s push to defuse tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Matt Karnitschnig is in Vienna to preview this weekend’s general election in Austria. And we hear from Christian Oliver, POLITICO’s senior policy editor, on what landmark tax rulings by the EU General Court mean for Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager.

In our feature interview, Keir Starmer, the U.K. Labour party’s shadow Brexit secretary, sat down with POLITICO London Playbook Editor Jack Blanchard moments after a dramatic vote on at the party’s annual conference this week. Starmer talks to Jack about why he thinks Labour would end up backing Remain in a second referendum, despite party leader Jeremy Corbyn’s reticence, and reveals that he’s not nearly as “establishment” as you might think.

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Ep 118, presented by BP: Georgian President Salomé Zourabichvili Sep 19, 2019

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In our just-released podcast, we review the week in European politics and speak to the president of a small country with big geopolitical challenges.

"Protecting the European way of life” and other curious job titles in the next European Commission are causing ever more consternation and confusion, particularly in the European Parliament. Our quartet of journalists from the EU's key capitals debate those concerns and asks what the kerfuffle tells us about how President-elect Ursula von der Leyen operates.

And just when you thought Italian politics had calmed down... Former PM Matteo Renzi and his allies have broken away from the governing Democratic Party. Our correspondent in Rome, Silvia Sciorilli-Borrelli, tells us what it means for Italy and Europe.

Our special guest is Georgian President Salomé Zourabichvili, who’s trying to bring her country closer to the EU even as she accepts it won't be joining the bloc — at least not for a long time to come. At the same time, she has to manage a standoff with Russia, which occupies 20 percent of Georgia's territory. POLITICO’s Rym Momtaz caught up with Zourabichvili during a visit to Paris.

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Ep 117 Special Edition: US Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland Sep 15, 2019

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In a special edition of the EU Confidential podcast, U.S. Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland speaks with POLITICO’s Ryan Heath about the state of relations between Europe and the United States. Donald Trump’s man in Brussels talks about the prospects of a relationship “reset,” trade tension, digital tax and much more.

Sondland has particularly strong words for the EU’s incoming trade commissioner, Phil Hogan. He brands recent comments about Trump by the Irishman “very condescending.” On France’s push for a digital services tax, he pledges a “vigorous” attack and accuses Paris of trying to “dip their dipper into the stream of cashflow” from U.S. companies.

Although he spoke before POLITICO broke the news that the World Trade Organisation ruled in favor of the U.S. in a dispute over Airbus subsidies, the ambassador makes clear how he sees that battle playing out.

Sondland also talks about his conversations with the EU’s incoming leadership team and about his own European heritage.

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Ep 116, presented by Bayer: Swedish Enviro Minister Isabella Lövin — Commission’s Green New Deal Sep 12, 2019

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The new episode of POLITICO's EU Confidential podcast is part of our "goes green" series. And the timing could hardly be better, with Ursula von der Leyen this week unveiling her team for the new European Commission — featuring a vice president for a European Green Deal.

Our quartet of journalists from the EU's key capitals — Andrew Gray in Brussels, Rym Momtaz in Paris, Matthew Karnitschnig in Berlin and Annabelle Dickson in London — looks at von der Leyen's lineup (including some strange job titles). We ask: Just how green is Europe going to get under this new Commission?

We hear from Swedish Environment Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Isabella Lövin on her country’s plan to become climate neutral by 2045. And POLITICO's environment reporter Paola Tamma catches up with Youth for Climate coordinator Adelaïde Charlier. With global protests planned to coincide with the U.N. Climate Summit on September 23, Charlier sets out what her peers want from politicians and answers criticism that their demands carry too high a price.

Our financial reporter Bjarke Smith-Meyer explores whether the European Central Bank will assume a green hue under Christine Lagarde.

And there's a bit of Brexit too, as our capital quartet stages its own version of prime minister's question time to tackle the latest big mysteries around Britain's delayed departure from the EU.

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Ep 115, presented by the European Commission: Brexit drama — MEPs Caroline Voaden and Judith Bunting Sep 05, 2019

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Our brand new podcast focuses on the Brexit drama in London — but not just from a British perspective. POLITICO journalists Rym Momtaz (based in Paris), Matthew Karnitschnig (Berlin), Annabelle Dickson (London) and Andrew Gray (Brussels) bring you insights from across the Continent. With previous host Ryan Heath now in a new role at POLITICO in the U.S., this quartet from Europe’s key capitals will be your regular guides through European politics.

Annabelle tells us what it was like to be in the House of Commons as Boris Johnson was defeated by a rebel alliance — and emotional MPs on both sides of the divide vented their anger. Rym and Matt bring us the French and German views of Brexit: Any chance Macron or Merkel will step in to seal a deal?

In this week’s interview, newbie MEPs Caroline Voaden and Judith Bunting of Britain’s Liberal Democrats tell us what it’s like to get to grips with life in the European Parliament — and why they decided to make a podcast about it. “Our MEP Life” is the first and only podcast of its kind, giving listeners — in Bunting’s words — “the slightly unadulterated behind-the-scenes-ness.” Voaden and Bunting also talk about how the uncertainty around Brexit affects their lives and work, and how two former journalists are adjusting to instructions to tow the party line.

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Episode 114, presented by Shell: Ryan Heath signs off Aug 30, 2019

Show notes

In this episode the POLITICO team turns the tables on Ryan Heath, who finishes as host of EU Confidential this episode, and interviews him about the high, lows and changes he has seen in EU politics over the past 12 years. From next week the podcast will be hosted by Annabelle Dickson, Rym Momtaz and Matthew Karnitschnig.

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Episode 113, presented by Citi: Megan Richards Aug 22, 2019

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Ryan Heath interviews Megan Richards, a Canadian who spent three decades working for the EU, rising to be one of its top officials in digital and later energy policy. It's a short episode this week, all the better to let you enjoy your holidays.

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Episode 112, presented by Bayer: Electrification Alliance's Kristian Ruby Aug 08, 2019

Show notes

This week we’re going Green again: Ryan Heath talks to Kristian Ruby who runs Eurelectric and the Electrification Alliance, as a way to clean our energy systems. After that, POLITICO's Anca Gurzu takes a hydrogen-powered car for a wild test drive.

It's all a world a way from where the EU started: as a coal trading community. After the greenest EU election ever, the question in Europe now isn't whether to go green, but how fast we should get there.

We have a very special podcast panel this week. With summer holidays approaching and host Ryan Heath moving to POLITICO in the US, it's the last panel featuring the current trio.

The podcast takes a brief summer break next week but we'll be back in a fortnight.

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