Brussels Playbook Podcast

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 includes an interview with European Commission Vice President for Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič, in which we discuss everything from batteries to Brexit.Harassment allegations: Joanna Maycock from the European Women's Lobby explains why she thinks the wave of recent allegations can lead to positive change. Host Ryan Heath and panelist Ailbhe Finn talk about the times they experienced sexual harassment and assault. Together with Lina Aburous, they discuss an alleged rape case involving two European Parliament staff, resulting in the alleged perpetrator leaving their job.Point of no return: “It's not just in Brussels, right? It's everywhere.” Maycock said, after decades of trying to “shine a light” on the problem that she calls a “massive structural issue.” She hopes “the outpouring of testimony means that it's a wake-up call that it's a kind of point of no return, that actually things have to be done.”Clear rules, training needed: “The European institutions need to be really clear with all staff what constitutes sexual harassment and harassment in the workplace so that nobody can claim that they don't understand what it is or can try and use some kind of cultural relativism as an excuse for what is effectively illegal behavior,” Maycock said.Who gets punished? “The negative consequences of being a victim of sexual harassment (or) sexual violence are far greater and the negative consequences on the perpetrator,” said Maycock, who believes “we need to have systems which put the onus on believing in supporting people who come forward with allegations."In the second part of the podcast, Commissioner Šefčovič talks about his career as a Slovak diplomat and his work as one of the EU’s longest-serving commissioners.What he wishes he knew on Day 1 as a Commissioner: “You have to be really patient, you'll have to work on different levels … you have to repeat and repeat and repeat it and convince your peers and in the end it works.”EU Energy Union: If you believe the EU gospel, the first article of faith is the EU single market. We talk to Šefčovič, about the gaps in that market, and why it matters that the EU project, which started as a coal and steel community, still doesn’t have a complete energy market.Spoiler alert: his keywords are climate and competitiveness.Commissions compared: Šefčovič also reveals the big differences between the Barroso and Juncker Commissions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 18 of POLITICO's EU Confidential podcast features an interview with European Commissioner Vĕra Jourová, who leads the EU's work on data protection among her many responsibilities as commissioner for justice, consumer rights and gender equality.We also remember Daphne Caruana Galizia: Controversial and crusading, Malta's most famous journalist Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb Monday afternoon. EU Confidential speaks with Paul Dallison and Harry Cooper, two POLITICO journalist who knew her, about her approach and Malta's often toxic political environment. Caruana Galizia was selected for the 2017 POLITICO28, a list of people shaping Europe.From jail to justice commissioner: Barely 10 years ago, Vĕra Jourová was falsely accused of EU-related fraud and subject to pre-trial detention in the Czech Republic. The experience inspired her to retrain as a lawyer to learn about the system that wrongly imprisoned her: today she is the justice commissioner of the European Union and oversaw an EU directive guaranteeing the presumption of innocence.Jourová says #MeToo: In a wide-ranging interview, Jourová reveals she had her own experience of sexual violence, calling on other victims to report the perpetrators and speak out to change prevailing cultures. "A lot of people in Europe think that beating women is a normal, kind of accepted, thing," she says. "We have to change the perception of society that this is something normal."Do you have a #MeToo story to share about an incident? Email playbook@politico.eu in confidence so there can be a better understanding of sexual harassment and assault in Brussels.Jourová also talks about Catalonia, Dieselgate, a plan to deliver a "New Deal for Consumers" and her efforts to take on multinational companies selling sub-standard food in Eastern Europe.EU WTF moments of the week: First up, Theresa May's dine and dash Monday night in Brussels. Our panelists Lina Aburous and Ailbhe Finn discuss how we got to the point where May asked Jean-Claude Juncker for Brexit help. And of course, the Austrian election: Sebastian Kurz, 31, is set to become the EU's youngest leader, on the back of a populist campaign.Catalan quandary: In our Dear POLITICO advice session, we hear from an MEP's assistant with a dilemma — how should he deal with a difference of opinion with his boss on Catalonia? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 17 of POLITICO's EU Confidential podcast features back-to-back interviews with Karl-Heinz Lambertz, president of the European Committee of the Regions, and George Kaminis, the center-left mayor Athens.Theresa May — Not dead yet: We start by getting out of the Brexit weeds in a conversation with Paul Taylor, POLITICO's Europe-at-large columnist. Taylor takes us through the debate in London following Theresa May's refusal to say whether she would vote for Brexit today, and argues that the British prime minister is weakened, but not going anywhere. Next up, says Taylor: a Cabinet reshuffle, followed by strategically timed concessions to the EU.Grassroots Europe: Karl-Heinz Lambertz, head of the EU's Committee of the Regions — one of its newer and lesser-known institutions — talks to us about what he thinks needs to happen with the €350 billion the EU spends on regional subsidies in its current long-term budget. Lambertz, who this week hosted Donald Tusk's keynote speech on Brexit and Catalonia, and for years headed Belgium's German-speaking region, explains what it takes to negotiate a settlement between a national government and its restless regions.Athens on a collision course with left-wing Greek government: Mayor George Kaminis explains why he finds it hard to work with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and why his version of economic reform is a "fairytale." Kaminis pitches himself as a reformer who can be better trusted with EU money and Greek tax money than Greece's left-wing government. "Cities have performed much better than governments" on asylum and other migration issues, said Kaminis, who wants to be the center-left candidate for prime minister in elections expected in 2018 or 2019.For our EU WTF moments of the week, we head to Romania and Austria ...What came first, the chicken or the tax?: Varujan Vosganian, a former Romanian finance minister, argued that Romania will never have a strong welfare so long as poor Romanians keep denying the state high tax revenue by keeping their own chickens and making their own jam instead of buying such products from stores and paying value-added tax.Austria's burqa ban ensnared a shark and bicyclists: Our panelists Lina Aburous and Harry Cooper discuss how to cope with the unintended effects of lawmaking. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Ryan Heath talks to POLITICO's chief Europe correspondent Matthew Karnitschnig about a homegrown journalism experiment: POLITICO's first Global Policy Lab. We convened labor and economics experts, executives and union representatives, along with regular POLITICO readers, to develop stories about how Europe can engineer growth, and in particular to develop real policy prescriptions for how Germany's old world manufacturing base could survive the country's demographic crisis.Robots to the rescue: Germany is using robots to beat back its demographic crisis of an aging population and to keep its manufacturing competitive. For all the value delivered by robots Matthew Karnitschnig told us that "You can't just rely on robots. There really is going to be no way around dealing with the problem without more immigration." To maintain Germany's current workforce average net migration levels would need to 400,000 per year.Telecoms connects all, so must support all: Telia CEO Johan Dennelind rejects the idea of telecoms as a "siloed industry" that exists in its own corner of the economy. He says telecoms is a platform that connects everyone, so he has both business and social obligation to commit to projects like the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.No charity here: From helping to deliver corruption-free markets to better health outcomes for women, Dennelind says delivering on social goals is part of Telia's annual reporting and "part of our core business. This is good for us and our shareholders."Sweden's Stockholm second only to Silicon Valley in start-up race: Dennelind says Sweden's success "comes on the back of an ecosystem in Stockholm that is fantastic," which is due to Sweden's political framework, skills base, local attitudes and good capital funding.No need for Macron's proposed EU agency for disruptive innovation: "I don't think it's needed. What is needed is to let loose the forces that are out there," in terms of skills and capital. Dennelind added "Creating separate innovation boxes is not the overarching answer, with all respect" to President Macron.The Merkel / Macron elevator pitch: "Do you understand the potential of digitalization, do you understand Europe can fall behind, but also lead the way? If you understand that which I believe you do: create the conditions, set the framework right, just do it," based on the Commission's proposed new telecoms code which national governments have attempted to water down.How to regulate right: Dennelind's advice to EU regulators is apply a principle of "Same service, same rules. Don't regulate technology: regulate services and behaviors. Don't regulate in advance: regulate problems""We risk entering into a phase where we don't get things done in Europe": Dennelind thinks both sides have a special obligation to be constructive given the complicated telecoms landscape of more than 120 companies in Europe, compared to just a handful in the United States and China.EU WTF moment of the week is Catalonia: Our panelists Ailbhe Finn and Lina Aburous express a shared sadness at how Sunday's independence vote in Catalonia was handled. They question what instructions were given to police in Barcelona, discuss threat to the EU's credibility as a defender of citizens' fundamental rights, look at why finding an external mediator to bring the two sides together will be difficult.Dear POLITICO discusses Brit-bashing over Brexit in Brussels: Our panel says individual Britons can't be blamed for the decisions of a whole population and its government, and shouldn't be subject to rudeness of discrimination as a result of Brexit. They advised a listener that as a Briton in Brussels he is subject now to behavior that wouldn't be acceptable if directed at him as a member of a minority group. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a special episode this week, we feature interviews from both sides of the Catalan independence debate ahead of the Catalan regional government's referendum, planned for Sunday.Ryan Heath interviews Jorge Toledo Albiñana, Spain's secretary of state for European affairs, who makes the case for Spanish unity, as well as Amadeu Altafaj, the Catalan government's representative to the EU, who accuses Madrid of using repressive tactics that breach EU law.Ryan also speaks to POLITICO Europe's managing editor, Stephen Brown, about the challenges of covering a passionate debate where there appears to be little scope for a negotiated compromise.Independence 'is not going to happen,' says Toledo. In response, Altafaj said: "That short quote is very telling. It says a lot about the problem. Basically, this is a political challenge and it should be addressed through politics and it's being addressed by all means: the judiciary, the police forces, and undercover operations, etcetera, but not through politics." Toledo rejects the idea that "a part of Spain decides on its own what the whole of Spain is."'Evil illegal act:' That's how Toledo describes the referendum, claiming Madrid has been acting "very moderately" to prevent the vote. Their efforts have included judicial investigations into hundreds of Catalan officials, as well as bans on pamphlets and websites promoting the referendum.Barcelona remains open to discussion: While the rhetoric of independence campaigners suggests they'll let nothing stop them from reaching their ultimate goal, Altafaj insisted there is room for negotiation. “We are open to discussion and until the very last minute before the referendum on Sunday,” he said.Madrid likens its fight to JFK's on civil rights: Toledo used an interesting analogy to describe Madrid's situation, comparing it to how the late U.S. President John F. Kennedy dealt with state officials who refused to comply with a Supreme Court ruling against segregation. "You can disagree with the law. You can change the law. But you cannot not apply the law because you think it is not fit to your purposes," said Toledo.Altafaj, meanwhile, criticized Madrid's tactics as a "black and white, passionate macho Latino approach," adding that with a different approach by the Spanish government, "most of the tensions could have been diffused years ago."Both sides said that while tensions are running high, violence is not expected. Altafaj noted there have been six years of "huge demonstrations with more than 1 million people on the street and never a single incident."Also this week, our podcast panel discusses the difficulties posed by the results of the German election. Angela Merkel came in first, but can't be described as a clear winner. She faces limited coalition government options and must also contend with the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany.And finally, Dear POLITICO discusses EU Court confusion: What do you do when an esteemed British journalist can't tell the difference between the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, and the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg? Lina Aburous and Ailbhe Finn explain what they'd do. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Ryan Heath interviews Toni Cowan-Brown, a vice president at NationBuilder, the software company that has powered election campaigns for Emmanuel Macron's party, Theresa May, Bernie Sanders and even Belgian communists. Also this week: POLITICO's Florian Eder looks ahead to the German election.Smashing political barriers: Cowan-Brown explains how political software is dramatically lowering the money and time it takes to launch movements and campaigns.Analog Germany: But the company is not working on the German election: because political parties wanted all the data stored in Germany. We discuss whether that attitude is likely to change.About that election: POLITICO managing editor Florian Eder previews Sunday's parliamentary vote — and discusses who Brussels would like to see in the next government.Boris Johnson's Brexit vision — fact or fantasy? Our Brussels brains trust debates what Britain's foreign secretary is up to with his recent Brexit opus and fact-checks some of his statements.The court with optional judgments: The brains trust also talks about why the European Court of Human Rights has issued 10,000 judgments that have not been implemented by its member countries.Dear POLITICO discusses "Brussels or Bust": We hear from a listener who works at a pan-EU organization, and whose CEO has decided they don't need to live in Brussels. Is that decision hurting their credibility? Lina Aburous and Ailbhe Finn weight the pros and cons. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ryan Heath interviews Tomáš Valášek, the former Slovakian ambassador to NATO who heads the Carnegie Europe think tank.As Russia begins its Zapad war game, the West should be worried about Moscow “downright lying about the size and the type” of military exercises it holds, Valášek says. But he also says that fears Moscow will use the exercise as a springboard to attack or invade a neighbor are overblown.Valášek said the EU has finally upped its defense cooperation game in a meaningful way, and that Jean-Claude Juncker's olive branches to eastern Europe in his State of the European Union speech are an essential gesture if the EU27 is to stay united through Brexit negotiations and planning for the next long-term EU budget.Also this week, Christian Oliver, POLITICO's European trade editor, guides us through Juncker's address. We discuss the speech's many priorities, traps, and fanciful power grabs.In our panel discussion, regular guests Ailbhe Finn and Lina Aburous discussing the political hot potato of the government of Catalonia's attempt to hold a referendum on independence from Spain.And in the Dear POLITICO advice session, we hear from a listener who says she has a bullying boss in the Europe office of a large company. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Ryan heath talks to David McAllister, head of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee and a key ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.McAllister says the U.K.'s decision to leave the EU is a "historic mistake" and Turkey's authoritarian drift is “appalling." He also says the EU cannot slam the door on the membership aspirations of Western Balkan countries.McAllister says that while “there aren't many people who really believe that Martin Schulz could become German chancellor,” it would be a terrible mistake for the ruling CDU party to be complacent about their opinion poll lead.On Brexit, McAllister warns “the clock is ticking” for negotiators and said the U.K. needs to do more to bring the divorce talks forward.Also on the podcast this week, Jack Blanchard, the editor of the new POLITICO London Playbook, explains where Brexit is likely to bite most.In our "EU WTF" feature, Ailbhe Finn and Harry Cooper discuss an extraordinary set of money laundering and bribery allegations tied to the ruling elite of Azerbaijan, which has denied the accusations.And in our Dear POLITICO advice section we hear from a staff member of the EU-funded European House of History who has a string of complaints about the working conditions there — and we hear the EU side of the story too. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 the European Alpbach Forum in Austria, looks at why human rights defenders have failed to make more headway in the face of populist challenges. O'Flaherty also talks about the European Commission's fights with Poland and Hungary and why he regrets Brexit from a human-rights perspective.Also on the podcast this week, POLITICO's energy and climate editor Jan Cienski, one of our resident Poland experts, walks us through the key players in the European Commission's dispute with Warsaw over the government's role in the courts and its hardline positions on independent journalism and refugees.In our "EU WTF" feature, Ailbhe Finn and Lina Aburous discuss Emmanuel Macron's massive make-up bill, his tour of eastern Europe, and the incredible lack of chemistry between chief Brexit negotiators Michel Barnier and David Davis.And in the Dear POLITICO advice session, a European Parliament assistant recounts her distress at being asked by her boss to be "extra friendly" with other MEPs and their assistants to help him get the deals he wants.You can contact the podcast team at playbook@politico.eu. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Brexit, a roundup of the latest on Britain's departure from the EU, and discussion of stories from across the Continent.We start with POLITICO's Brexit editor James Randerson, who brings us up to date on the flurry of Brexit position papers released by the U.K. government as well as the EU's official reaction — and what it really thinks.Bruton, the former Irish prime minister who later served as the EU's ambassador to Washington, tells us what Brexit will mean for Ireland, why Britain may decide its vision of life outside the EU isn't achievable and how the rest of the European Union will fare when the negotiating gets tough.In our "EU WTF" feature, Playbook's Harry Cooper and POLITICO tech reporter Joanna Plucinska discuss Donald Trump's Scottish tax break, Cambridge University Press's Chinese challenge and a big rise in popularity for the EU.You can contact the podcast team at playbook@politico.eu. Look forward to hearing from you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices