EU Confidential
Episodes
Episode 77: EU presidential contender Frans Timmermans — Tibor Navracsics
13 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Double-header this week: socialist candidate for European Commission president Frans Timmermans and the European Commissioner for sport, education an...
Episode 76, presented by Ericsson: Carlos Moedas - Macron's climb down - Denmark's immigration plan
06 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We talk to Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for innovation, research and science, about his passion for zero-emission cities, artificial intellige...
Episode 75, presented by Google: Debating Diversity — Hillary's migrant misfire
29 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We return to the theme of diversity in Brussels, a year after POLITICO’s Brussels So White article series, which looked at racial diversity and rela...
Episode 74 presented by Tetra Pak: The Green episode, with Ska Keller, Bas Eickhout, Petra De Sutter
22 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Greens are riding high as they gather in Berlin this weekend for their co-candidates for European Commission president in 2019. A string of national a...
Episode 73, presented by Future Europe Podcast: Rose Gottemoeller — Brexit deal — Merkel's vision
15 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Rose Gottemoeller, NATO's deputy-secretary general, is our main guest this week. She's the highest-ranking female official in the history of the mili...
Episode 72, presented by EFPIA: Bill Browder & Russia — US midterms — Picking politicians
08 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Our main guest is Bill Browder, once the largest foreign investor in Russia but now a fierce critic of Vladimir Putin. He’s the driving force behind...
Episode 71, presented by Google: Malin Björk & Merkel's legacy
01 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
With Europe's eyes glued to Berlin this week as the effects of Angela Merkel's partial retirement are digested, this podcast episode looks at what hap...
Episode 70, presented by Thai Union: Special Oceans-themed episode with Karmenu Vella, Werner Hoyer
25 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
First up Justine Maillot from the Surfrider Foundation, a group of activists pushing for healthy oceans from the bottom-up. Then we speak to Davide Ma...
Episode 69, presented by Corteva Agriscience: Bill Gates and Emmanuel Macron's youth wing
18 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Bill Gates — billionaire tech founder turned philanthropist — is the main guest on this week's podcasts. We focus on why Europe is an aid superpow...
Episode 68, presented by UNESDA: Manfred Weber wants to recast the European Commission presidency
11 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In a wide-ranging interview Weber says Brussels is a "black box" that is disconnected from most Europeans (though he leads its biggest party in the Eu...
Episode 67, Alexander Stubb on why he should be European Commission president
04 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Alexander Stubb lays out his pitch for the European Commission presidency in this week's episode. Stubb is competing with Manfred Weber to be the Euro...
Episode 66, presented by Qualcomm: OSCE chief — Montenegro's foreign minister — MEP expenses
27 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Ukraine, the Balkans, MEPs' expenses, fake news and fallout from the Salzburg summit are all on the menu this week. Our main guests are Thomas Greming...
Episode 65, presented by Google: Emily O'Reilly — Vestager vs. German carmakers — Macron's job tips
20 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
EU watchdog Emily O'Reilly is our main guest this week. Before heading off to get married, regular host Ryan Heath sat down for a candid chat with th...
Episode 64, presented by Qualcomm: Lyor Cohen — Alain Deneef — Democracy festival
13 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week, a bona fide music mogul. Lyor Cohen has been in the business for 37 years, working with musicians who define memories and eras — think th...
Episode 63, presented by Qualcomm: Dimitris Avramopoulos — Selmayrgate — Election fever
06 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Dimitris Avramopoulos, the European commissioner for migration, sets out how the Commission plans to fighting back against populist attempts to hijack...
Episode 62 — Inside Europe's right-wing extremist groups with Julia Ebner
30 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week's episode revolves around two political hot topics: how Europe should manage the growth of far-right politics across the continent, and whet...
Episode 61: Brexit scenarios unpacked — Headscarf-free holidays
23 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week we hit peak Barnier — the height of the EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier's influence — and the U.K. published its Brexit no-deal cont...
Episode 60: Summer stories — Tattoos to potatoes — Bridge blame game
16 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we mix the format up: not one guest, but many. We've asked POLITICO reporters to talk us through stand-out stories they've produced this su...
Episode 59: Inside the House of European History
09 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week's interview is with Constanze Itzel, the director of the EU museum, the House of European History, in Brussels.Listen to hear her views on f...
Episode 58: Labor market secrets — EU school rules — Summit entry fee
02 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In this week's main interview, we hear from Sue Duke, the global head of public policy for LinkedIn. She reveals the labor market lessons to be learne...
Episode 57: Johannes Hahn — Western Balkans — Trump-Juncker love-in
26 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Johannes Hahn, European commissioner for enlargement negotiations and neighborhood policy, talks us through the Western Balkans. It's a region whose c...
Episode 56: Phil Hogan — Amélie de Montchalin (En Marche) — Juncker and Trump stumble
19 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Amélie de Montchalin, a French member of Parliament with Emmanuel Macron’s En Marche party explains why its undemocratic to finalise the EU’s nex...
Episode 55, presented by Raytheon: Inside the NATO summit
12 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
A special defense-themed episode take you inside this week’s tense NATO summit and discusses the new specialism of 24/7 POTUS management. The stella...
Episode 54: NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg — Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki — EU Parliament expense shock
05 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
A bumper episode featuring NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg who’s got a present for Donald Trump ahead of next week’s NATO summit in Brusse...
Episode 53, presented by Google: Wolfgang Schäuble — Danny McCoy — EU's Migration Troubles
28 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It’s summit week: crammed with migration and Trump and eurozone and Brexit and will-Merkel-stay-or-go drama. One man who could benefit greatly from ...
Episode 52, presented by Martens Centre: Women Rule! - Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka - Rome's Roma rhetoric
21 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week’s theme is Women Rule! Our feature interview is withPhumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, executive director of U.N. Women, who’s got passionate views...
Episode 51: Helle Thorning-Schmidt — European Parliament election — Migration debate
14 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Helle Thorning Schmidt, the former Danish PM who's now head of Save the Children International, is our main guest. Host Ryan Heath asks her about tack...
Episode 50, presented by Google: How NGOs lobby the EU — OSF's Patrick Gaspard — Leaders get younger
07 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
A blockbuster episode, our 50th, in which three guests from the world of NGOs talk about the joys of their work and their frustrations at dealing with...
Episode 49, sponsored by Barilla Foundation: Nicola Sturgeon — Journalist's revival — Irish vote
31 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon talks to host Ryan Heath in an interview recorded in front of an audience at POLITICO's Brussels HQ. Sturgeo...
Episode 48: Big tech’s brain hijack — Data protection D-Day — Zuckerberg’s Brussels moment
24 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a tech special this week — but you don’t have to be a geek to understand any of it. Host Ryan Heath talks to Tristan Harris, who spent thre...
Episode 47: Combating anti-Semitism — Boosting the Balkans — Europe from afar
17 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We dive right in with two interviews — the first with the EU’s coordinator for combatting anti-Semitism, Katharina von Schnurbein. Then we speak t...
Episode 46, presented by Grow with Google: Curbing idealism - EESC chief Luca Jahier - Hot mic hell
10 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Host Ryan Heath talks to author Vincent Stuer about his new book, Curb Your Idealism: The European Union as seen from within.Ryan also chats to Luca J...
Episode 45: Margrethe Vestager — EU budget battle — Whistleblower protection
03 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan Heath hits the road with Europe’s Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager — darling of Emmanuel Macron and foe of tax cheats and tech gia...
Episode 44, presented by Grow with Google: EU's energy future – Spencer Dale – Macron & Trump
26 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Spencer Dale, the former chief economist at the Bank of England who now holds the same position at energy giant BP, is our main guest this week. He lo...
Episode 43, presented by Grow with Google: Cécile Kyenge — Harassment investigation — Winking Macron
19 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Cécile Kyenge, one of the few black members of the European Parliament, talks to Ryan Heath about the obstacles and abuse she’s faced in her career...
Episode 42: The Orbán effect — Mr. Data Protection — Harassment at EU gender equality agency
12 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Kati Marton, a veteran reporter and author now with the Committee to Protect Journalists, talks to host Ryan Heath about how the reelection of Victor ...
Episode 41: Bill Gates — Judging junkets — Greek MEPs' special stopover
05 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder and philanthropist, is this week’s main guest. He talks to Ryan Heath about the work of his foundations, the next ...
Episode 40, presented by Edelman and PAC: Brexit Countdown — Guy Verhofstadt — Brussels Press Revue
29 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
With a year to go until Brexit, we take stock of where things stand and what lies ahead. The European Parliament's Brexit Coordinator, Guy Verhofstadt...
Episode 39: Lithuania's Linas Linkevičius — Artificial Intelligence — Naughty MEPs
22 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Russia, artificial intelligence and MEPs who are famous for the wrong reasons all feature in this week’s episode. Host Ryan Heath talks to the forei...
Episode 38: President Margvelashvili of Georgia— Ryanair's Michael O'Leary
15 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode Ryan talks to Giorgi Margvelashvili, the president of Georgia who is a doctor of philosophy and was in town for the German Marshall Fu...
Episode 37, presented by DowDupont: Marianne Thyssen — Lulwah Al Khater — Selmayr vs the world
08 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan Heath talks to Marianne Thyssen, the European Commissioner for employment, about how she wants to overhaul EU policies on jobs, education and tra...
Ep. 36 : Tony Blair interview — Food bank furor — MEP of the week
01 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Tony Blair came to Brussels this week with a clear message, delivered in this week's interview: I’m trying to stop Brexit, and there’s only one sh...
Episode 35, presented by Raytheon: Ben Hodges — Munich Security Conference — Brexit blockbusters
22 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week's episode features a review of the Munich Security Conference and an interview with Ben Hodges, who recently retired as commanding general o...
Episode 34: Alexander Stubb — Spitzenkandidat — MEP of the Week
15 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week's special guest is Alexander Stubb, the former Finnish prime minister and ex-MEP who is now vice president of the European Investment Bank (...
Episode 33: Nick Clegg — Western Balkans tough love — Lambert van Nistelrooij
08 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
EU politics this week was all about shrinkage and enlargement. The shrinkage of course is Brexit, with the U.K. government again failing to set out it...
Episode 32: Czech politics — Slovenian PM Cerar — German car industry experiments
01 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It's a bumper episode this week. We hear from POLITICO's man in Prague, Siegfried Mortkowitz, about the good cop-bad cop Euroskeptic routine coming ou...
Episode 31: Direct from Davos — Dutch PM Mark Rutte — Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki
25 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We've got the lowdown from Davos in another special edition from the World Economic Forum. The podcast features interviews with two prime ministers —...
Davos Confidential 4: Theresa Time — Werner Hoyer — Trump’s warm-up act
24 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan Heath and Matthew Kaminski look ahead to Theresa May’s appearance in Davos, hot on the heels of speeches by Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron. ...
Davos Confidential 3: Europe’s back — Post-rage politics — Modi’s missed chance
23 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Direct from Davos in our daily podcast, POLITICO’s Ryan Heath, Florian Eder and Matthew Kaminski look forward to an unofficial Europe day at the Wor...
Davos Confidential 2: Talking trade — Digital rights — Desperately seeking Donald
22 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan Heath and Florian Eder bring you the latest from the World Economic Forum in Davos in POLITICO’s special daily pop-up podcast. Ryan talks to Ar...
Davos Confidential 1: Setting the scene - Advantage Angela - Panda scale for speeches
21 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Davos Confidential: In the first of POLITICO’s daily pop-up podcasts from the World Economic Forum, Ryan Heath and Florian Eder preview this year’...
Episode 30: Estonian president Kersti Kaljulaid — Davos preview — MEP of the Week
18 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week's show features an interview with Estonia's President Kersti Kaljulaid, the first head of state to appear on the podcast. Kaljulaid explai...
Episode 29: Spotify CEO Daniel Ek - Poland vs Brussels - Harassment survey
11 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Host Ryan Heath interviews Daniel Ek, the CEO of global music pioneer Spotify. The music world was a notorious graveyard for online entrepreneurs: unt...
Episode 28: Estonia's EU presidency — Bulgaria's big moment — Iran protests
04 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Kaja Tael, Estonia's ambassador to the EU, reviews her country's six months running the bloc's rotating presidency. Host Ryan Heath also talks to POLI...
Episode 27, presented by Raytheon : 2017 review & NATO’s Jamie Shea
21 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Episode 27 of POLITICO's EU Confidential podcast features a review of the year from POLITICO reporters and an interview with NATO's Deputy Assistant S...
Episode 26: Rebooting Brussels — #BrusselsSoWhite — David Davis’s double talk
14 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Episode 26 of POLITICO's EU Confidential podcast has just been released, featuring a deep dive into the EU's capital city. We discuss how to improve B...
Episode 25: Herman Van Rompuy & Theresa May's Manic Monday
07 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Former European Council President Herman Van Rompuy talks to host Ryan Heath about the future of the EU in this week's episode. EU reform and Brexit h...
Episode 24: Glyphodrama — Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis — food safety chief Bernard Uhl
30 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This week's show features back-to-back interviews with the European commissioner for health, Vytenis Andriukaitis, who is also a heart surgeon, and Be...
Episode 23: Olympic committee chief — EMA, EBA to Amsterdam, Paris — Failed German coalition talks
23 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Episode 23 of POLITICO's EU Confidential podcast features Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee. This week, we've got two...
Episode 22, presented by Ørsted: Statoil CEO Eldar Sætre — White supremacy in Europe
16 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Episode 22 of POLITICO's EU Confidential podcast features Eldar Sætre, the CEO of Norway's oil and gas company Statoil. We spoke to Sætre on Novembe...
Episode 21: Greek opposition leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis — Oettinger's car clash — UK Cabinet chaos
09 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Host Ryan Heath interviews Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the head of Greece's New Democracy party and opposition leader in parliament. The outsider and the Mit...
Episode 20: Historian Rolf Falter — Catalonia comes to Brussels — Harassment scandal
02 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan Heath interviews Rolf Falter, a historian who has worked across the Belgian and EU political landscapes: from adviser, to journalist, to get-out-...
Episode 19: Harassment discussion — Hope for change — Maroš Šefčovič interview
26 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Episode 19 of EU Confidential features a special discussion on the issue of sexual harassment and assault in the EU Brussels bubble. The podcast also ...
Episode 18: EU Commissioner Vĕra Jourová — Remembering Daphne Caruana Galizia — Catalonia dilemma
19 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Episode 18 of POLITICO's EU Confidential podcast features an interview with European Commissioner Vĕra Jourová, who leads the EU's work on data prot...
Episode 17, presented by AB InBev: Athens Mayor — EU Committee of Regions President
12 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Episode 17 of POLITICO's EU Confidential podcast features back-to-back interviews with Karl-Heinz Lambertz, president of the European Committee of the...
Episode 16: Telia's Johan Dennelind — Global Policy Lab — Catalan independence referendum
05 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Host Ryan Heath talks to POLITICO's chief Europe correspondent Matthew Karnitschnig about a homegrown journalism experiment: POLITICO's first Global P...
Episode 15: Catalan independence debate — German election — Court confusion
28 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In a special episode this week, we feature interviews from both sides of the Catalan independence debate ahead of the Catalan regional government's re...
Episode 14: NationBuilder's Toni Cowan-Brown — German election — Boris Johnson's fact and fantasy
21 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Host Ryan Heath interviews Toni Cowan-Brown, a vice president at NationBuilder, the software company that has powered election campaigns for Emmanue...
Episode 13: Tomáš Valášek — Juncker's State of the Union — Catalonia
14 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan Heath interviews Tomáš Valášek, the former Slovakian ambassador to NATO who heads the Carnegie Europe think tank. As Russia begins its Zapad...
Episode 12: David McAllister MEP - London Playbook's Jack Blanchard - Azerbaijan Scandal
07 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Host Ryan heath talks to David McAllister, head of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee and a key ally of German Chancellor Angela Merk...
Episode 11: EU rights expert Michael O'Flaherty — Poland's peril — Macron's make-up
31 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Regular host Ryan Heath is back with an interview with Michael O’Flaherty, the head of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency. The interview, recorded at ...
Episode 10: Brexit & Ireland — John Bruton — Trump's tax break
24 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
While regular host Ryan Heath recovers from his holiday jet lag, news editor Andrew Gray presents an interview with former Irish PM John Bruton on Bre...
Episode 9: NATO's Petr Pavel — German election campaign — Britain's Brexit papers
17 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Regular host Ryan Heath is on holiday but the podcast rolls on with news editor Andrew Gray standing in once more. This week, we've dug into the archi...
Episode 8: Emmanuel Macron interview — Commissioners' expenses — Brussels networking tips
10 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Europe might be slowing down for the summer but we're still going strong. Regular host Ryan Heath is on holiday so news editor Andrew Gray stands in t...
Episode 7: Anders Fogh Rasmussen — Russia, Ukraine and the US — Greece's scapegoat statistician
03 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This week, host Ryan Heath sits down with Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the former NATO secretary-general and now adviser to Ukrainian President Petro Porosh...
Episode 6: Violeta Bulc — Ryanair to Brexit rescue? — Endless car scandals
27 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This week Violeta Bulc, the European transport commissioner and a taekwondo black belt, explains why she’d have Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary as a B...
Episode 5: Taavet Hinrikus — Digital Regulation — David Davis: genius or fool?
20 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This week Mark Scott, POLITICO Europe's new chief technology correspondent, talks to us about the trends he sees as tech companies deal with the reali...
Episode 4: Marietje Schaake — Politics of EU-Japan deal — Parliament's PhD babysitter
13 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This week Christian Oliver, POLITICO Europe's trade editor, talks us through the astonishing speed with which the EU completed its trade deal with Jap...
Episode 3: Victoria Espinel — What Brexit's broken — European Parliament harassment
06 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Host Ryan Heath, author of POLITICO's Brussels Playbook, talks to journalist Frances Robinson about the things Brexit has already wrecked — before i...
Episode 2: Ángel Gurría — EU's Googlewhack — Interns in bikinis backlash
29 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Host Ryan Heath speaks to Ángel Gurría, secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), who explains why it ...
Episode 1: Cecilia Malmström — Brexit talks
22 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
After two pilot shows, host Ryan Heath brings you the first official episode of POLITICO’s new podcast all about the EU and European politics. Ryan ...
Bonus Episode: Erna Solberg
18 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Host Ryan Heath gets some tips for Brits from Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg about what it's like to be closely linked to the EU but not part o...
Pilot episode: Pierre Moscovici
13 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In this pilot episode of POLITICO's new podcast, EU Confidential, host Ryan Heath talks to European Commissioner Pierre Moscovici about the future of ...
EU Confidential Trailer
05 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
A sneak preview of the new podcast from Politico Europe. Coming soon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about yo...