Today is the first day of the European elections, with citizens heading to the polls to determine who will sit in the new European Parliament, starting in the Netherlands and continuing in other EU countries until Sunday 9th of June. As the elections start, we present the latest projections from our polling partner, Europe Elects , on voting trends, percentages, and the seats the parties may gain. To break down the numbers and the tendencies, we invited Tobias Gerhard Schminke, CEO and founder o...
Jun 06, 2024•15 min•Ep. 60
This week, EU citizens will decide who will sit in the European Parliament for the next five years. Continuing our election coverage, today we’re focusing on the EU parties, the big political families behind our national ones, and their challenges. Who are these parties exactly and what are the obstacles they face? To understand better who the big players in these elections will be, and the related challenges, I’m joined by Nick Alipour, our Berlin-based politics reporter.
Jun 05, 2024•15 min•Ep. 59
If 'Bad English' has become the unofficial language of the European Union, it is in large part because its building blocks are acronyms, abbreviations, and insider references that have turned communication among politicians, analysts, and lobbyists in Brussels into an obscure and dense vernacular. Euractiv's Global Europe editor Alexandrea Brzozowski, politics reporter Max Griera, and politics editor Aurélie Pugnet join us to explain the intricacies of the EU bubble's jargon.
Jun 04, 2024•15 min•Ep. 58
With the EU elections just days away, speculations about the EU Commissioners are growing louder. If the new European Commission president is selected by July, they'll have the summer to form their College of Commissioners from the nominated candidates. But who is staying, who is going, and who are the new entries? To understand better what is happening with the EU Commissioners, I spoke with our politics editor, Aurélie Pugnet.
Jun 03, 2024•12 min•Ep. 57
Diplomats are racing against time to open negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union before Hungary takes over the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU on 1 July. Hungary, whose leader Viktor Orban has close ties to Russia, might try to kill or stall the deal. Will EU member states succeed? Global Europe’s editor Alexandra Brzozowski analyzes the scenarios ahead.
May 31, 2024•13 min•Ep. 56
The current EU Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Luxembourg's Nicolas Schmit, is touring EU member states to rally support for socialist parties and strengthen his party's standing ahead of June's EU elections. Our politics reporter Max Griera, who followed Schmit on the campaign trail, joined us to explain what happened during the tour and what main positions the Socialists’ lead candidate wanted to communicate.
May 30, 2024•16 min•Ep. 55
In the face of a deeply divided left, the French National Rally's grab for power is easier than many might expect. How is the party reshaping the influence of the far-right at the European level? We sat down with Paris correspondent Theo Bourgery-Gonse to put French dynamics into the European context.
May 29, 2024•14 min•Ep. 54
As the European Parliament elections approach, the Greens are broadening their focus beyond environmental policies to address issues that resonate more with the general electorate, like security, defence, and housing. They are also positioning themselves as the sole alternative to the far-right, which has heavily politicised climate change in a bid to gather more support and secure additional seats in Parliament. But how can the Greens distinguish themselves from the other parties that focus on ...
May 28, 2024•12 min•Ep. 53
Around the globe, the number of citizens who show unwavering support for democracy is on the rise but there are also more and more of those voting for leaders who may undermine democracy. Today, for the first time ever, more than half of the global population supports such leaders. We spoke to United Nations Development Programme's Pedro Conceiçao and Euractiv's politics hub editor Aurelie Pugnet to zoom in on the implications for the upcoming European Union elections.
May 27, 2024•16 min•Ep. 52
Four Dutch parties, including Geert Wilders’ far-right Party for Freedom, have agreed on a government programme emphasising nationalism and a tougher stance on Europe. They plan to seek opt-outs from some European policies, particularly migration, despite knowing these efforts will likely fail. Does this mean they’re going for a strategy of confrontation with Europe or one of cooperation? And will their Eurosceptical approach damage the country’s credibility in the EU? To understand better the e...
May 24, 2024•17 min•Ep. 51
Candidates across the political spectrum are meeting twice this week to confront their adversaries and share on a public stage,their vision for Europe. So, what did they have to say about the state of the EU economy, and what are their priorities for the next mandate? In the latest episode of Today in the EU, we sat down with Euractiv’s Economy Reporter, Thomas Moller Nielsen, who attended the debate.
May 23, 2024•16 min•Ep. 50
Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot five times on 15 May in an assassination attempt that shocked Europe. The attack has brought the issue of violence against politicians back into the discourse and raised some questions about Slovakia as well: What is the current state of the Slovak political scene and how can stability be achieved? To understand better what is happening with Slovak politics, we are joined by Radovan Geist, publisher of Euractiv Slovakia.
May 22, 2024•12 min•Ep. 49
As Israel widens the scope of its invasion of Gaza to the southern city of Rafah, four EU countries might soon officially recognize the state of Palestine, in line with the long-touted proposal for a 'two-state solution' to the Israel-Palestine conflict. It is hard to tell whether the move will have any positive effect on ceasefire negotiations. Euractiv's Global Europe editor Alexandra Brzozowski explains the likely scenarios in the latest episode of Today in the EU.
May 21, 2024•12 min•Ep. 48
The Pfizergate scandal broke in 2021, revealing that during the pandemic, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had negotiated a contract for 1.8 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla via mobile phone texts that remain undisclosed to this day. Today, the case returns to the Belgian courts but the lingering questions remain: Who is the man behind Pfizergate, and what really happened? To look into this topic, we spoke with Clara Bauer-Babef, Euractiv’s health re...
May 17, 2024•13 min•Ep. 47
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has started touring member states to rally support for her second mandate and strengthen relationships with national centre-right leaders. The latest visits were to Split, Croatia, and the Italian capital Rome. Our politics reporter Max Griera, who followed von der Leyen across Europe for four days, joined us to explain what happened during her tour and what main messages VDL wanted to communicate ahead of the EU elections in June.
May 16, 2024•14 min•Ep. 46
North Macedonia, one of the six Western Balkans EU hopefuls, inched closer towards membership of the European Union after accession talks were launched in July 2020. But the country’s newly elected president, hailing from the nationalist VMRO party, which won the parliamentary election this month, refused to use the country's official name at her inauguration, setting it on a collision course with its neighbours and Brussels. Sarantis Michalopoulos , Euractiv's senior network editor, explains wh...
May 15, 2024•13 min•Ep. 45
Much has changed over the past two decades: The EU has evolved and expanded, with thirteen new members. The 2004 Big Bang enlargement altered Europe's geopolitical landscape and, though its pace has slowed since then, new member states continue to influence and shape the EU's agenda and policies. In this episode, we’re looking together with Alexandra Brzosowski, Euractiv’s Global Europe editor, at what is happening in Eastern Europe and why the geopolitical weight of these countries is increasin...
May 14, 2024•12 min•Ep. 44
Fossil fuel intensive industries will soon have to pay for their greenhouse emissions, according to the new Europe-wide carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS2). However, the design of ETS2 puts most of the financial burden on the shoulders of individual consumers. In this episode of Today in the EU, Economy and Transport reporter Jonathan Packroff analyses this latest addition to the EU carbon market and what it means for the future of the union's citizens.
May 13, 2024•15 min•Ep. 43
Despite being at the head of a fossil fuel empire at a time when the union is traversing a green transition, Daniel Kretinsky has managed to stay off the radar. That was until the Czech billionaire started acquiring media through Europe, magazines such as Elle, Le Monde, Marianne, Czech tabloid Blesk and Czech News Center. Paris correspondent Théo Bourgery-Gonse joined us in the studio to discuss Kretinsky’s far-reaching influence.
May 10, 2024•14 min•Ep. 42
A recent report from the World Bank highlighted that middle-income countries are leading contributors to global emissions from the agrifood system. The study underscored the urgent need for more investments in reducing agrifood emissions, suggesting that investments should surge 18-fold, to approximately €240 billion annually. This substantial increase is deemed crucial to halve emissions and propel the world towards achieving net zero emissions by 2050. For a deeper analysis of the report, I in...
May 08, 2024•12 min•Ep. 41
After the European Parliament elections in June, the fate of 119 legislative files unfinished in this mandate will hang in the balance. The new parliament must decide whether and how to address these pending issues. This decision is expected to fuel political debates and shape the direction of EU policymaking in the upcoming five-year term, as indicated by recent polls. But are all these files to be affected? To look into the fate of the unfinished files we are joined by Max Girera, Euractiv's N...
May 07, 2024•14 min•Ep. 40
Today in Paris, Chinese President Xi Jinping is embarking on a rare visit, where he will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. This meeting occurs against a backdrop of mounting trade disputes between China and the EU, sparking interest in the agenda. As the three leaders convene, each side enters these talks with specific objectives, aiming to secure outcomes that serve their respective national interests. To understand better what is...
May 06, 2024•15 min•Ep. 39
EU countries generally agree that green technologies are a crucial piece of the puzzle to meet climate targets and stay competitive in the renewable energy market. They agree less on how to boost their competitiveness vis-à-vis the United States and China. In this episode we discuss the Net Zero Industry Act and what’s next for the energy industry with Donagh Cagney, Euractiv's energy and environment editor.
May 03, 2024•13 min•Ep. 38
Controversial and popular in Germany but relatively unknown in Brussels, Marie Agnes Strack Zimmermann's nomination as the lead candidate of the liberal party ALDE has taken many by surprise. But who is she, and what does she have in store for the European Union? We invited Euractiv’ Germany's politics reporter Nick Alipour to understand Strack-Zimmermann's power and influence better.
May 02, 2024•14 min•Ep. 37
After years of neglect in the public debate, agriculture has become a hot topic at the EU level in the past year, with issues like food inflation, farmers' protests, and climate change impact on crops. Consequently, agriculture features heavily in the electoral manifestos and campaigns of many political parties ahead of June's EU elections. I'm joined by our Agrifood reporter, Sofia Sanchez Manzanaro, to discuss this.
Apr 30, 2024•14 min•Ep. 36
In this episode of our daily podcast ‘Today in the EU, we are talking about Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who will announce today whether he will step down from office or continue to lead the country. Sanchez's possible departure, just weeks before the EU elections in June, could shake up Europe's political landscape. The abrupt decision came in the wake of allegations of influence-peddling against his wife, Begoña Gómez. But what impact will his decision have on the EU? We’re analysing ...
Apr 29, 2024•14 min•Ep. 35
In this episode of our daily podcast ‘Today in the EU’, we talk about espionage in Europe. Across Europe, more and more politicians have been accused of having ties with foreign governments in the past month. At the centre of the latest scandal is the German far-right AfD party and its leader, Maximilian Krah, around whom the Afd’s European political campaign revolves. Kjeld Neubert, Euractiv’s Berlin correspondent, joined us in the studio to discuss the latest developments.
Apr 26, 2024•15 min•Ep. 34
In this episode of our daily podcast ‘Today in the EU’, we talk about Fratelli d'Italia, whose most influential members are gathering at a two-day conference in central Italy that begins tomorrow. It’s there that we will learn whether Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will lead her party in the European elections. Many think it can’t be anyone else but her, but there is another option, her right hand in the party: her sister, Arianna Meloni. To delve into her background and influence in more detail,...
Apr 25, 2024•14 min•Ep. 33
With slightly more than a month to go till the European parliamentary elections, surveyors from our polling partner Europe Elects, are focusing on the performance of the political groups, the seats they may get in the parliament, and what are the main concerns of EU citizens. With anticipation of a higher voter turnout than in previous years, according to the last Eurobarometer before the elections, EU citizens appear more aware and engaged than ever with EU affairs. To get a better understandin...
Apr 24, 2024•14 min•Ep. 32
If you are a citizen from one of the 27 countries that are members of the European Union, you have less than seven weeks before you are called to the polls for the European Parliament election, the first after Brexit. Today, we are getting into the practicalities of the voting process, and looking at the impact this vote will have on the future of the EU. What are the key dates we need to keep in mind and what can we expect from this election? In our studio, we invited Aurélie Pugnet, politics h...
Apr 23, 2024•12 min•Ep. 31
