Episodes

  • Holiday special: Meet JD Vance’s surprising European support network

    Holiday special: Meet JD Vance’s surprising European support network
    Jan 3 2025
    To kick off the new year, we’re sharing a standout episode from our sister podcast, Power Play. EU Confidential will be back next week, but for now, join us for this deep dive into the rise of JD Vance. From Hillbilly Elegy to vice-presidential candidate, JD Vance has come far since his hardscrabble roots in Ohio to shape the Trump doctrine for the millennial generation. He’s also gained notoriety for upping the temperature of America’s heated political discourse. But there’s also a philosophical side to Vance, shaped by a network of advisers and supporters on the other side of the Atlantic. Host Anne McElvoy talks to two friends who have watched Vance’s rise closely: James Orr, a professor of religion at Cambridge University and a leading figure behind the National Conservative movement in the U.K., and Rod Dreher, a former American Conservative columnist who has links to Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán. Anne is also joined by Jonathan Martin, POLITICO’s politics bureau chief and senior political columnist, to reflect on Vance’s career prospects. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    37 mins
  • Holiday special: Brussels vs Moscow — the EU risks losing its eastern neighbors

    Holiday special: Brussels vs Moscow — the EU risks losing its eastern neighbors
    Dec 27 2024
    For the final episode of EU Confidential this year, we revisit a compelling discussion on the European Union’s waning influence in its eastern neighborhood, originally recorded in October. With a fresh wave of pro-EU and anti-government protests erupting in Georgia, this conversation is more relevant than ever and well worth another listen. The episode examines the EU’s struggle to maintain its foothold in Moldova and Georgia, and explores how the ongoing war in Ukraine shapes voter sentiment. We also delve into the impact of Russian interference, domestic political dynamics and Brussels’ own missteps on the future of these countries. EU Confidential host Sarah Wheaton leads the discussion with POLITICO reporters Eva Hartog, Gabriel Gavin and Veronika Melkozerova, offering insights into the challenges and high stakes at play. Later in the episode, we shift focus to the inner workings of the European Commission’s restructured leadership. In a POLITICO Pro Connect session, top policy editors Joanna Roberts, Aoife White, Cory Bennett, Jan Cienski and Douglas Busvine explore the power dynamics within the Commission — who’s wielding real influence and who’s left with merely ceremonial roles. The event was part of the 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, Eva Hartog and Gabriel Gavin "Ashes of Our Fathers. Inside the Fall of Nagorno-Karabakh," Gabriel Gavin’s book, will be released in January 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    40 mins
  • Farewell to the EU’s sharpest in-house critic

    Farewell to the EU’s sharpest in-house critic
    Dec 20 2024
    Politics are driving a growing culture of secrecy at the European Commission, warns European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly in this week’s episode of EU Confidential. In an exclusive exit interview with host Sarah Wheaton, O’Reilly shares her frustrations over obtaining documents and holding European Union institutions to account. From Pfizergate to investigations into deadly migrant shipwrecks, the former journalist reflects on how her faith in the EU’s ideals has fueled her determination to ensure its institutions live up to them. Her advice to her successor? Schmooze more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    34 mins
  • Inside the POLITICO 28 gala: Europe’s most powerful players (and hangover)

    Inside the POLITICO 28 gala: Europe’s most powerful players (and hangover)
    Dec 13 2024
    This week's episode of EU Confidential takes you inside the POLITICO 28 gala, where we revealed our list of the people who will drive the year ahead. Host Sarah Wheaton is joined by POLITICO Editor-in-Chief Jamil Anderlini and senior reporter Aitor Hernández-Morales to discuss how a vacuum in the EU's traditional power centers and growing disillusionment with traditional parties is giving rise to a new class of influential Doers, Dreamers and Disrupters in this year’s power ranking. Among them: EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who Sarah interviewed at this week’s P28 gala. Be sure to check out the full 2025 ranking here. Then, we’ll check in on Romania, where a court recently cancelled a presidential election that drove ultranationalist Călin Georgescu into the second round. The court cited malign interference on TikTok, but opposition figures say it’s just the establishment trying to hold on to power. POLITICO’s Carmen Paun and Pieter Haeck unpack how it’s playing out in Bucharest and Brussels. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    42 mins
  • Can Brussels’ new power trio take on Trump?

    Can Brussels’ new power trio take on Trump?
    Dec 6 2024
    Finally. After months of paralysis, the new leadership team in Brussels is up and running. Then again, the power trio of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa and foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas might already be out of date, reflecting centrist majorities that don’t really exist anymore and pushing for support for Ukraine that’s already on the wane in the age of Donald Trump. Host Sarah Wheaton is joined by POLITICO’s own power trio of reporters — Barbara Moens, Aitor Hernández-Morales and Nick Vinocur — to debate whether the new dynamic in Brussels can face the challenges ahead and avoid devolving into petty pitfalls like the so-called sofagate scandal. Next, the latest installment of the Berlaymont Who’s Who series looks at Marta Kos, the new gatekeeper for aspiring European Union members. Lastly, we listen in to a clip from our sister podcast Power Play about the political crisis in Paris. Anne McElvoy talks to POLITICO's Editor-at-Large in France Marion Solletty and Alexandre Kouchner, political analyst and lecturer at the Sciences Po university. Listen here to the full episode: "French connection: Trump meets Macron in free fall" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    35 mins
  • Can Brussels’ new power trio take on Trump?

    Can Brussels’ new power trio take on Trump?
    Dec 5 2024
    Finally. After months of paralysis, the new leadership team in Brussels is up and running. Then again, the power trio of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa and foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas might already be out of date, reflecting centrist majorities that don’t really exist anymore and pushing for support for Ukraine that’s already on the wane in the age of Donald Trump. Host Sarah Wheaton is joined by POLITICO’s own power trio of reporters — Barbara Moens, Aitor Hernández-Morales and Nick Vinocur — to debate whether the new dynamic in Brussels can face the challenges ahead and avoid devolving into petty pitfalls like the so-called sofagate scandal. Next, the latest installment of the Berlaymont Who’s Who series looks at Marta Kos, the new gatekeeper for aspiring European Union members. Lastly, we listen in to a clip from our sister podcast Power Play about the political crisis in Paris. Anne McElvoy talks to POLITICO's Editor-at-Large in France Marion Solletty and Alexandre Kouchner, political analyst and lecturer at the Sciences Po university. Listen here to the full episode: "French connection: Trump meets Macron in free fall" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    32 mins
  • Romania’s TikTok upset boosts Putin

    Romania’s TikTok upset boosts Putin
    Nov 29 2024
    Romania’s presidential election delivered a TikTok-fueled political shock, with pro-Russia, far-right candidate Călin Georgescu winning the first round. His unexpected rise has stunned the establishment and raised serious questions about NATO, Ukraine, and Europe’s future. EU Confidential host Sarah Wheaton speaks with former NATO spokesperson and Romanian native Oana Lungescu to unpack what Georgescu’s victory means for European security, and how Trump’s return to the White House could fuel the far-right and Euroskeptic wave spreading across the continent. Later, POLITICO’s Max Griera breaks down the final vote on Ursula von der Leyen’s new European Commission and the backroom deals that made it happen, revealing shifting power dynamics in Brussels. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    38 mins
  • Scholz on the brink, Rubio in the wings: Europe faces the new Trump era

    Scholz on the brink, Rubio in the wings: Europe faces the new Trump era
    Nov 22 2024
    While Donald Trump is filling out his top team, the EU faces a leadership vacuum. Thank Germany, where Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been on the phone with Vladimir Putin and faces gloomy prospects in likely snap elections. EU Confidential host Sarah Wheaton is joined by Gordon Repinski, POLITICO’s executive editor for Germany and host of the Berlin Playbook podcast, and Liana Fix, Europe fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, to unpack how domestic chaos in Berlin translates to transatlantic chaos for the rest of the bloc. Then, Sarah checks in with Eric Bazail-Eimil, POLITICO.com’s expert on U.S. foreign policy, to learn more about Marco Rubio, Trump’s surprisingly conventional pick to serve as Washington’s top envoy. Are the sighs of relief in Brussels justified? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    33 mins