Brussels Playbook Podcast

This week's episode features a review of the Munich Security Conference and an interview with Ben Hodges, who recently retired as commanding general of the U.S. Army in Europe.Also on the podcast: our panelists give their verdict on the big new job for Martin Selmayr, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker's powerful chief of staff, look forward to the Italian election and once again test their knowledge of members of the European Parliament.The Munich Security Conference, the premier gathering of security and defense experts and policymakers, has been called "a poor man's Davos, but one where work actually gets done." POLITICO's Matthew Karnitschnig gives host Ryan Heath the lowdown on this year's event and introduces his interview from the conference with Hodges, who discusses transatlantic ties, Russia, the Balkans and how Europe can deter potential threats.Highlights from the show:Hodges on Russia: "In all the governments of Europe, people recognize that the environment really has changed, that this is not somebody sabre-rattling toward Russia or you know somebody hoping that the Cold War will come back, this is a real change in security environment."Germany's miserable military: A report for the German parliament found the country's army ill-prepared for combat. Hodges says "Germany absolutely can and should do more" to contribute to NATO but he has some novel ideas about how Berlin's contribution could be measured. Hear more in the podcast.Eye off the Balkans: "I think we did sort of take our eye off the Balkans ... we've plateaued there and probably need to put some more energy into the institutions in the Balkans, otherwise they do become vulnerable to ... Chinese influence or Russian influence."EU WTF — Martin Selmayr: The panel reacts to Martin Selmayr's new job, and what it will mean for how the Commission is run. They also discuss the Italian election and respond to a reporter's challenge to name the movie that best fits the Brexit storyline.MEP of the week: Our panelists delve once again into a big box filled with the names of members of the European Parliament to see if they can find someone they know. We also hear more about the people behind the names picked out in previous weeks. And we talk to last week's MEP of the week, Eva Kaili of Greece, from the Socialists & Democrats group. She talks about her growing interest in technology and artificial intelligence — and her proposal to revamp one of the Parliament's committees. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 (EIB). Stubb talks about how the bank will handle Brexit and how it will play an increasing role as the EU tries to do "more with less" in its next long-term budget.The podcast panel discusses the Oxfam sex scandal, the controversial Spitzenkandidat system for picking the Commission president and the intriguing backstory of a notable MEP.Highlights from the show:Stubb on the EU budget after Brexit: "The basic idea is that you have to be realistic. That the EU budget is not going to grow, especially after Brexit, so then you're going to have to come up with different types of ideas of leveraging or getting more bang for the buck or for doing more with less."Stubb on the impact of Brexit on the EIB: "We will have less money to invest as the U.K. leaves the EU... but then again we'll also have less population and we'll have less member states in the EU. At the end of the day, these things balance out, and you must remember the EIB is a rather flexible bank in the sense that during difficult times we are able to increase our firepower."Will Stubb run for Commission or Council president? He’s open to it, but POLITICO’s Finnish sources suggest Stubb will not try to elbow his compatriot and party colleague Jyrki Katainen out of the way. "It's always a big hypothetical ... if someone was asking if I'll go back to national politics, the answer is no. But European politics is always an appealing affair to me,” Stubb says.EU WTF — Oxfam sex scandal: The Brussels brains trust talks about the Oxfam sex scandal over the behavior of its staff in countries including Haiti and asks how the EU, as a major aid donor, will react.EU Thumbs Up — One Brussels, One Vote: A group of Brussels residents has urged the Belgian government to change the law — and potentially the constitution — to allow more than 300,000 non-Belgian citizens to participate in regional elections.Feud of the Week — Spitzenkandidat: The podcast panel debates the pros and cons of a feud that will last more than a week — and tries to outdo the Commission and the Council with some blue-sky thinking of its own on how to make the EU more democratic.MEP of the Week: Panelist Ailbhe Finn did her homework on an MEP we picked out of our big box of parliamentarians two weeks ago — France's Marc Joulaud. She tells us why Joulaud was at the center of a recent big French political scandal.Listen to the podcast to find out more — and discover our new MEP of the week, a former TV journalist. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 its negotiating position and Michel Barnier sweeping through London to explain the EU's red lines. EU Confidential's featured guest this week is former U.K. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.The enlargement — or potential enlargement — comes from the Western Balkans. The European Commission Tuesday issued a strategy that opens the way for top-performing countries in the region to join the EU in 2025. There's a catch: the Commission all but said none of the Western Balkans countries will be ready by then, because of endemic corruption, organized crime and fragile democratic institutions.Highlights from the show:Nick Clegg says U.K. government is "a bunch of muppets": "I think it is impossible to exaggerate the level of a cluelessness and incompetence now at the heart of British government." He said the current government has torn up the U.K.'s reputation for competence and "to all extents and purposes the British government now looks like a bunch of muppets."Looming constitutional crisis: Clegg warned of — and encouraged — a constitutional crisis later in 2018, caused by a standoff between the U.K. parliament and Theresa May's government as MPs warm to the idea of rejecting whatever Brexit deal emerges. "I don't think MPs should feel remotely duty bound to vote for this (Brexit deal),” he said.Jacob Rees-Mogg = Don Quixote in pinstripes: Clegg said the leading Brexiteers are "like Maoist revolutionaries. They don't care how many bodies they sacrifice along the way" to their "promised land."MEP of the Week — Lambert van Nistelrooij (Netherlands): Lambert, a Christian Democrat with a passion for connecting generations and communities to the digital revolution, talks about his latest efforts to make online shopping easier outside your home country.You can contact the podcast team at podcast@politico.eu. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 out of the Czech capital, and we catch up with a prime minister, a bank chief and an MEP that Ryan Heath spoke to at the World Economic Forum in Davos.Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar tells us why he wants his country to be a home for progressive innovation. European Bank for Reconstruction and Development chief Suma Chakrabarti pitched the EBRD as "the most extreme pro-private sector business model there is" among public banks, and one that is able to cut through the EU's political baggage because it is independent from the Union.Marietje Schaake, MEP and a WEF Young Global Leader, wowed those who wanted to learn if "Europe is back," via a series of dinners, panels and reports. Schaake advocated "showing by doing" as a way to transfer that diversity to the broader Davos delegates list, which is 80 percent men. The best part of the WEF, in her opinion: The world's A-list is "very approachable."Czechs seeking asylum in New Zealand, monkeys and more on our podcast panel: Just what was the German auto industry thinking with its gas experiments on animals and humans? Why was a Czech family granted asylum in New Zealand? And where in the world is Pervenche Berès, our very first "MEP of the Week?"You can contact the podcast team at podcast@politico.eu. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've got the lowdown from Davos in another special edition from the World Economic Forum. The podcast features interviews with two prime ministers — the Netherlands' Mark Rutte and Poland's Mateusz Morawiecki — as well as U.S. investor Bill McGlashan, a champion of social impact investing.Ryan Heath is your host for a show that's both the final edition of our daily Davos Confidential podcasts and the latest weekly episode in our EU Confidential series.Rutte's red lines: The Dutch PM makes clear he's not up for turning the eurozone into a "transfer union." He says he's all for more European integration if it means completing the single market but "we have to be very careful about what we want to achieve. I'm against risk sharing... And if that is what some people mean, I will very much plead against it."Brexit blues: Hear why the Netherlands "hates" the fact Britain is leaving the EU and what Rutte wants from London now.POLITICO’s Matthew Kaminski speaks to new Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki — a 49-year-old, polyglot banker — about his plans to fix Warsaw’s troubled relations with Brussels, the biggest threats to Poland and its economic successes.Firm on justice reform: "We are not weakening institutions," Morawiecki insists. "I'm absolutely convinced that we are strengthening those institutions. The judiciary system in Poland, after our reforms, is going to be more independent, more objective, more transparent, and more effective"Cabinet reshuffle: “The changes were important to actually bring some new thinking to the government. And the most important thing today is that we tried to find common ground with Europe."Russian worries: Hear why Morawiecki regards Moscow as one of the biggest threats to Poland — and why Warsaw is so opposed to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.U.S. investor Bill McGlashan explains why he started an investment fund with Bono, why he took his family to live in India for a year and why he believes private capital is essential to tackle global social and environmental challenges. And POLITICO's Florian Eder describes the scene as Donald Trump descended on Davos.The show also doubles as the final edition of our daily Davos Confidential podcasts. You can catch up with all of the week's episodes here: https://soundcloud.com/politicoeuconfidential Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.Also in the daily podcast, they discuss U.S. officials’ reception at the World Economic Forum, ahead of Donald Trump’s arrival.Ryan interviews Werner Hoyer, president of the European Investment Bank and talks to John Harris, POLITICO’s global editor-in-chief, who previews Trump’s speech to the forum on Friday.To get more from the POLITICO team at the WEF, sign up for the daily Davos Playbook at register.politico.eu/davosplaybook. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 World Economic Forum on Wednesday, when Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron and Paolo Gentiloni will all be in action.In keeping with the Europe theme, Ryan and Florian chat to Belgian Deputy Prime Prime Minister Alexander De Croo about the EU’s future, post-rage politics and Brexit.Ryan speaks to Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, who explains why he always heads to Davos and also offers a brief history of his country — from farming to space mining.Ryan, Florian and Matthew look back at Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appearance at the WEF and explain why he missed his moment.To get more from the POLITICO team at the WEF, sign up for the daily Davos Playbook at register.politico.eu/davosplaybook. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Arancha González, executive director of the International Trade Centre, who says the world needs to up its game when it comes to trade talks.He also catches up with Brett Solomon, a digital rights advocate who explains why he’s come to Davos this year.Ryan and Florian also discuss who’s battling for an audience with Donald Trump and share some behind-the-scenes gossip. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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’s gathering of the global elite.From the Crystal Awards to the Panda scale for speeches, Ryan and Florian have the inside track from the snow-covered slopes of the Swiss resort.They also unpack the decision by Germany’s Social Democrats to back coalition talks with Angela Merkel, who will be in Davos on Wednesday.As well as the daily podcast, Ryan and Florian will bring you a daily Davos Playbook email. Sign up for free at http://register.politico.eu/davosplaybook/. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's show features an interview with Estonia's President Kersti Kaljulaid, the first head of state to appear on the podcast.Kaljulaid explains why Estonia wants to pay more to the EU, reveals a promise Jean-Claude Juncker made to her about the post-Brexit EU budget and talks about how Estonia is struggling with Russia's turn to militarism.POLITICO Managing Editor Florian Eder joins us to preview the World Economic Forum in Davos January 22-26.Sign up to POLITICO's daily Davos Playbook coming out next week. And listen out for our daily pop-up Davos Confidential podcasts, which will be on the same feed as EU Confidential.With our podcast panel, we launch a new feature: MEP of the Week. We draw MEP names out of a box and see whether the panel knows who they are or what they've achieved.Some more highlights from our interview with Kaljulaid...Estonia ready to pay more to EU budget: "I'm hoping for a lot of change because we have lots of common, supranational goals which we need to develop," Kaljulaid said.Juncker's promise to the Baltics — No Brexit black hole: Kaljulaid spoke to EU Confidential directly after meeting European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. She said Juncker promised that the financing of projects like the high-speed Rail Baltic project would not be affected by Brexit.Estonia's place in the world: “Fully intertwined with Nordic economies … We stand on the liberal Democratic value base.”On Russia: “I want to set one thing straight ... We definitely thought that Russia will undertake exactly the same development path to democratic nations as we ourselves were undertaking … We definitely didn't want it to turn out this way and we are definitely in no way benefiting from the fact that it turned out this way,” Kaljulaid said.Data is Estonia’s designated survivor: Asked about Estonia’s plans for coping with an invasion or top-level threat, Kaljulaid focused on the country’s data embassy (essentially its data back-up) in Luxembourg as proof of how ready it is to cope with all scenarios. “This is something which I would advocate every country do," she said.You can contact the podcast team at podcast@politico.eu. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices