Brussels wanted less red tape. It hasn't proved as easy as that.
Brussels is discovering that cutting red tape may be harder without actual experts in the room. As the EU races ahead with its deregulation drive, concerns are growing over rushed lawmaking, weaker sa...
20 Touko 14min
Budapest and Kyiv break the ice
After years of Hungary’s former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán blocking Ukraine’s path to join the EU, Budapest and Kyiv are talking again. That has Brussels wondering if Hungary might finally be softeni...
19 Touko 14min
Why Brussels is getting tougher on China
The European Commission is preparing to take a much tougher line on China, we hear on this episode of the Brussels Playbook Podcast, with Zoya Sheftalovich joined by Nick Vinocur. Brussels is growing ...
18 Touko 15min
Two transatlantic power brokers on why Europe should step up on Iran and double down on Ukraine
Welcome to the very first edition of the Brussels Playbook Week Ender. Anne McElvoy travels to the Copenhagen Democracy Summit, an annual event that brings together defenders of democracy in the Danis...
15 Touko 36min
The Commission’s next big overhaul?
One of the Commission’s oldest and most powerful departments may be heading for a dramatic overhaul — or even extinction. DG REGIO oversees the hundreds of billions of euros that go towards the soci...
13 Touko 16min
Could influencers crash future EU summits?
Ukraine wants Europe more involved in peace efforts with Russia — but who exactly would represent Europe in those talks? After Vladimir Putin floated former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder as a pos...
12 Touko 14min
French cinema is spooked by the far right
When foreign ministers meet in Brussels today, Israel and Russia will likely dominate the agenda. Today on the pod, Zoya and Nick discuss why the bloc might finally be able to move forward on sanctio...
11 Touko 16min
Who’s “European” — and who’s not?
We’re talking identity this week on EU Confidential — in more ways than one. First, host Sarah Wheaton sits down with Theresa Kuhn, professor of European studies at the University of Amsterdam, who h...
8 Touko 32min
