EU Confidential

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 MunsterTrump’s VP pick spells ‘disaster’ for Europe and Ukraine, by Suzanne LynchWhat a Kamala Harris foreign policy could look like, by Eric Bazail-Eimil, Joe Gould, Miles J. Herszenhorn and Phelim KineMysterious drones keep watch as Ukrainians train in Germany, by Joshua Posaner and Cristina Gonzalez

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.

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 teamEU fumes at rogue Orbán, but struggles to rein him in, by Barbara MoensOrbán parrots Putin’s lines on Ukraine in leaked letter to EU chief, by Csongor Körömi and Barbara MoensDivided, reshuffled and politically bruised: Europe’s leaders head to the NATO summit by Stuart Lau and Laura KayaliNATO backs Ukraine’s ‘irreversible path’, names China a ‘decisive enabler’ in Russia’s war, by Stuart Lau

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.

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!

Straight from the European Council summit, we bring you the latest news and analysis on a range of tough issues on the leaders' agenda.Host Sarah Wheaton is joined by POLITICO colleagues Barbara Moens and Aitor Hernández-Morales to discuss how EU leaders agreed on who they want to lead the top EU institutions over the next five years.With Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a special guest at the summit, EU leaders also talked about Ukraine — following the official opening of accession talks between Brussels and Kyiv earlier this week.Finally, we speak to Clea Caulcutt, our senior correspondent in Paris. She unpacks the prospects of Sunday's first round of snap parliamentary elections.Further reading:EU leaders arrive to discuss top jobs at high-stakes meeting — live updates by POLITICOGiorgia Meloni hits out at EU top jobs backroom deal by Barbara Moens, Hannah Roberts and Giorgio LealiFar right seizes France’s conservative heartlands by Clea CaulcuttFrench election: Your guide to a vote that is set to shake the EU and NATO by Clea Caulcutt

Almost two weeks after the EU election, there is still a lot of political manoeuvring going on — both in Brussels and in national capitals.First, POLITICO's chief EU correspondent, Barbara Moens, recaps of the race for the top jobs after European leaders failed to reach a deal at their informal dinner in Brussels earlier this week.Then, we zoom in on the countries and leaders who until recently were calling the shots, but now seem weakened — and those who are trying to seize the new zeitgeist and claim more power than they've had in the past. Host Sarah Wheaton and POLITICO's chief Europe correspondent in Berlin, Matthew Karnitschnig, discuss the precarious situation in which German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the parties in his governing coalition find themselves as a result of the EU vote.Later, we move to Poland and take a look at Donald Tusk and his increasingly dominant position among European leaders. Sarah is joined by Andrzej Bobiński, journalist and managing director of Polityka Insight in Warsaw, and Jan Cienski, POLITICO's senior political editor.And finally, Hungary's newly-unveiled slogan for its upcoming presidency of the Council of the EU may be "Make Europe Great Again," but we here at EU Confidential are all about MAGA: Making Audio Great Again. So do keep sending your ideas and comments to podcast@politico.eu.Further reading:EU leaders fail to agree on von der Leyen’s second term , by Barbara Moens, Jacopo Barigazzi and Stuart LauTime runs out for Olaf Scholz, by Matthew Karnitschnig

As the EU comes to terms with its new (sort of) political reality following last weekend's European Parliament election, France is already back in campaign mode — preparing for snap elections called unexpectedly by President Emmanuel Macron.The French president dissolved the National Assembly in response to the massive success of the far-right National Rally in the European election (and the poor showing of his own Renaissance party).Host Sarah Wheaton and her colleagues discuss Macron's shock decision and whether his gamble can pay off. She's joined by senior Paris correspondent Clea Caulcutt, politics reporter Victor Goury-Laffont, and POLITICO's editor-at-large Nick Vinocur. The team also looks at how the political earthquake in Paris is reverberating in Brussels and whether it will affect the ongoing race for the EU's top jobs.Further readings:Is Macron too toxic to win? by Clea Caulcutt, Victor Goury-Laffont, Sarah Paillou and Pauline de Saint Remy3 ways Macron’s election punt could go wrong by Victor Goury-Laffont

As election result projections were revealed on Sunday evening, our EU Confidential team recorded a live episode with first reactions and analysis from our POLITICO newsroom.Host Sarah Wheaton and the team looked beyond the numbers and analyzed the direction the EU might take as a consequence of the vote. We also discussed French President Emmanuel Macron's shock decision to dissolve the parliament after the far-right National Rally won the popular vote.Our guests were POLITICO editor-in-chief Jamil Anderlini, data reporter and election expert Hanne Cokelaere, cybersecurity editor Laurens Cerulus, senior EU correspondent Barbara Moens and politics reporter Eddy Wax.You can also watch our Election Night Live event here.