EU Confidential

EU Confidential

EU Confidential is a weekly European news and politics podcast published every Friday by POLITICO Europe. Each 30-minute episode features POLITICO’s analysis of the top stories driving EU politics, as well as notable guests shaping European policy and deep-dive stories from around the Continent. It’s hosted by Sarah Wheaton, POLITICO’s chief policy correspondent, who is joined by reporters from around Europe. Discover our show notes for EU Confidential here: https://www.politico.eu/eu-confidential-podcast/

Episodes

Von der Leyen vs. Trump: Europe answers back

December 11, 2025 • 39 mins
He’s not even European — yet Donald Trump has topped POLITICO’s annual P28 ranking of the most powerful people who will shape Europe in 2026. EU Confidential host Sarah Wheaton takes you inside the gala in Brussels — where commissioners, MEPs, diplomats, lobbyists and journalists packed into a glittering room, even as the mood underneath the sparkle felt unusually tense. At the event, Ursula von der Leyen sat down with Carrie Bud...
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Notes on a scandal — will a fraud probe upend the EU?

December 4, 2025 • 42 mins
Brussels was jolted this week by dawn raids and an alleged fraud probe involving current and former senior EU diplomats. Host Sarah Wheaton speaks with Zoya Sheftalovich — a longtime Brussels Playbook editor who has just returned from Australia to begin her new role as POLITICO’s chief EU correspondent — and with Max Griera, our European Parliament reporter, to unpack what we know so far, what’s at stake for Ursula von der Leyen, ...
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Peace plan panic: Does the EU still have a say in Ukraine’s future?

November 27, 2025 • 40 mins
Washington–Moscow peace maneuvers caught Europe off guard this week — raising questions about the EU’s continued relevance and readiness at a pivotal moment for Ukraine.Nick Vinocur, one of our regular guests, takes the host seat this time to speak with Veronika Melkozerova in Kyiv about how these peace talks look from inside a country still under attack.Then POLITICO’s finance reporter Bjarke Smith-Meyer and Wouter Verschelden, au...
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Inside Europe’s far right — going pro and going strong

November 20, 2025 • 32 mins
When Europe’s biggest political family crosses the aisle to vote with the far right, something fundamental shifts in Brussels. In this episode, host Sarah Wheaton unpacks the vote that cracked the European Parliament’s cordon sanitaire — and what a newly disciplined, image-polished far right means for Ursula von der Leyen’s shaky centrist alliance. POLITICO’s Marianne Gros and Max Griera take us inside the omnibus showdown; Tim R...
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Growing pains: Can the EU handle enlargement?

November 13, 2025 • 42 mins
Russia’s war in Ukraine has given new momentum to EU enlargement — and raised a bigger question: Is the bloc itself ready to grow?  This week, host Sarah Wheaton examines the EU’s growing pains — not just the politics and geopolitics of enlargement, but also the cultural and emotional questions of identity and belonging.   She speaks with Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović, head of Europa Nostra, about why Europe won’t feel complete unt...
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Pornography, children and privacy: Europe's digital dilemma

November 6, 2025 • 33 mins
Europe faces a growing dilemma: how to protect children online without breaking digital privacy for everyone.  A new report from the Internet Watch Foundation found that 62 percent of all child sexual abuse material discovered online last year was hosted on EU servers. It’s a shocking statistic that has left Brussels locked in a heated debate over how far new regulations should go — and whether scanning encrypted messages could be...
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How to lose a Dutch election — and still win one

October 30, 2025 • 35 mins
Is it enough to come first in an election? In the Netherlands, you hear that centrist Rob Jetten won big and Geert Wilders’ far right lost a lot — even though either one could still turn out to be No. 1 when all the votes are counted. Eva Hartog breaks down the results of the Dutch election with host Sarah Wheaton, and Max Griera reflects on what Frans Timmermans’ defeat means for social democrats all over Europe.Then, our Berlaymo...
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How about them assets — making Russia pay for Ukraine

October 23, 2025 • 34 mins
The EU wants to lend €140 billion in cash from frozen Russian funds to Ukraine; Belgium is afraid it will be the one on the hook for paying it back. That’s just one of the tough topics EU leaders discussed as they gathered in Brussels at a meeting devoted to fighting the external threat from Russian President Vladimir Putin — and the internal threat from the far right.  POLITICO’s Gregorio Sorgi breaks down why lending Russian fro...
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How to go from hero to zero, with Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel 

October 16, 2025 • 37 mins
French President Emmanuel Macron has gone from “Mr. Europe” eight years ago to the solitary man by the Seine. At the same time, ex-German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s legacy is also going through a sudden and sharp downgrade. How did these centrist pillars of Europe tank so quickly? With parties on the far right and far left rising up in their place, are citizens actually becoming more extreme — or are they just fed up? To discuss t...
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How not to fall: Behind von der Leyen’s fightback and Macron’s meltdown

October 9, 2025 • 47 mins
While the French government collapses in Paris, Ursula von der Leyen stands unshaken in Strasbourg. It’s been a week of political tremors — some performative, others seismic. Just three months after facing her first motion of censure, the European Commission president was hit with not one but two new attempts to topple her — and once again held firm. Host Sarah Wheaton talks with Sophia Russack of the Centre for European Policy St...
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Humiliating Europe: Trump’s culture war and the EU’s response

October 2, 2025 • 37 mins
What do Donald Trump’s culture war, Moldova’s EU ambitions, and Czechia’s upcoming parliamentary election have in common? They all reveal how Europe is being tested — and sometimes humiliated. In this episode of EU Confidential, host Sarah Wheaton speaks with Paweł Zerka, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, about his new report. It argues that Trump is waging a deliberate culture war against Europe —...
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Escalating trouble – Trump takes on the UN and Europe

September 25, 2025 • 33 mins
Trump says Ukraine can win — but should Europe believe him? At a hectic U.N. General Assembly in New York, U.S. President Donald Trump stunned world leaders with a dramatic rhetorical reversal on the war in Ukraine, mocking Russia as a “paper tiger” and urging NATO allies to shoot down Russian aircraft. Host Sarah Wheaton unpacks what this means with POLITICO’s Clea Caulcutt and Nick Vinocur, reporting from Manhattan — and asks wh...
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Jourová’s secrets and Putin’s drone tests

September 18, 2025 • 42 mins
From rule of law battles to inside stories, Věra Jourová looks back on a decade in the Berlaymont. The former European Commission vice president recalls her clashes and alliances in Brussels — from sparring with Frans Timmermans to discovering that Thierry Breton never laughed at her jokes. Now back in Prague as vice rector of Charles University and adviser to President Petr Pavel, she reflects on Czech politics, Europe’s future, a...
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Ursula’s Fight Song — who’s singing along?

September 11, 2025 • 38 mins
“Europe is in a fight.” With those words, Ursula von der Leyen set the tone for her State of the European Union speech — framing this as Europe’s “Independence Moment.” She proposed sanctions on extremist Israeli ministers over Gaza; floated using frozen Russian assets for Ukraine; and backed calls for a drone wall to protect the bloc's eastern flank against Russia. She also pledged action on jobs, poverty and housing. But were t...
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Tyrants are forever: Has Europe missed its moment?

September 4, 2025 • 36 mins
Under the jackhammers on Schuman, Brussels is filling back up for the rentrée — and the fault lines are showing. Host Sarah Wheaton is joined by colleagues Clea Caulcutt, Nick Vinocur and Paul Dallison to unpack a cliff-edge week: France’s confidence vote on an austerity budget that could topple Prime Minister François Bayrou and push Paris back into chaos; Europe’s next moves on Ukraine; and Ursula von der Leyen’s big address in ...
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Limping through the Trump era: Can Europe lead again?

August 28, 2025 • 36 mins
From a picturesque mountain resort in Austria, at the European Forum Alpbach, host Sarah Wheaton unpacks fresh threats by the U.S. to hit countries with tariffs over their digital rules — drawing instant reactions from the European Commission’s Sabine Weyand and Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz. She then sits down with former Spanish Foreign Minister — now dean of the Paris School of International Affairs at Sciences Po — Arancha Gon...
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EU's sweaty summer — what you missed (and what matters)

August 21, 2025 • 33 mins
Just when we thought we could get a break for the summer, geopolitics had other plans. This week on EU Confidential, host Sarah Wheaton is joined by POLITICO colleagues Jordyn Dahl, Gabriel Gavin and Jan Cienski for a catch-up on what moved while the bubble was at the beach. From Alaska to the White House: Did anything real shift on Ukraine beyond choreography? We break down the EU-U.S. tariff framework and turn to Gaza — where Br...
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Escape the EU Bubble: Expert Summer Book Picks

July 31, 2025 • 35 mins
This week, we’re taking a breath. EU Confidential is stepping away from summits, trade battles, and late-night trilogues — and turning to something more refreshing: books. Host Sarah Wheaton is joined by audio producer (and self-confessed book nerd) Dionisios Sturis for this special summer reading edition. From sharp political non-fiction to playful fiction, poetry and literary escapes, we’re sharing what EU insiders are packing i...
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The €2 trillion question: Inside the battle over the EU's budget

July 17, 2025 • 38 mins
Trillions of euros, almost as many priorities — and just over two years to agree. The European Commission has unveiled its sweeping new seven-year budget proposal, and the fight over where the money goes is already heating up. Host Sarah Wheaton is joined by POLITICO’s Gregorio Sorgi and Bartosz Brzeziński to break down the big winners and losers in the 2028–2034 MFF (Multiannual Financial Framework, as the EU's long-term budget i...
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No-confidence vote: Is the EU Parliament about to break?

July 10, 2025 • 41 mins
Ursula von der Leyen survived a motion of censure — but not without sustaining damage. In Strasbourg, tensions within her pro-European coalition burst into the open, with allies accusing her party of flirting with the far right (again) and warning they could soon turn on her. In this bumper episode, host Sarah Wheaton — who made the journey to Strasbourg — brings you insight from behind the scenes in the European Parliament. She s...
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