episode-header-image

Nov 2021

22m 23s

Poland’s challenge to the EU

Financial Times

About this episode

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

https://www.ft.com/content/e66fa8b7-7b92-4497-8585-cf43e8cd41fc

Poland’s judicial reforms have put it on a collision course with the EU over human rights and the rule of law. Can the bloc adapt to accommodate its more awkward members or should it take a hard line? Gideon discusses the problem with Catherine De Vries, a professor of political science who specialises in the EU and is based at Bocconi University in Milan.

Clips: BBC, Euronews. European Commission

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next

The weaponisation of trade

Tariffs, sanctions and chokepoints have become the weapon of choice to punish political rivals - but what happens when these fail? Gideon discusses the impact of geopolitical disputes on global trade with Edward Fishman, author of Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economi ... Show More

Does Nato have a future without US leadership?

Gideon talks to Julianne Smith, former US ambassador to Nato about the future of the alliance. There seems to be greater transatlantic agreement on Ukraine, but tensions remain over Europe’s stance on Donald Trump’s war on Iran. So can the alliance survive without the US at the h ... Show More

Trump, Infantino and the political history of the World Cup

Gideon talks to Simon Kuper, FT columnist and author of World Cup Fever, about what distinguishes this World Cup from previous tournaments. What role has geopolitics played historically in the World Cup and is there any truth to some of the conspiracy theories surrounding this ye ... Show More

Recommended Episodes

Exit Poles? A bold challenge to the EU

<p>After a court ruling in Poland that is <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2021/10/10/governments-fall-as-the-eu-battles-corruption?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_bla ... Show More

Pawel Jablonski: Could Poland exit the EU?

Poland is the biggest rebel in the European family, and matters are coming to a head over its latest disputes with the EU. Brussels accuses the centre-right government in Warsaw of a blatant disregard for EU law, in particular over changes it wants to make to the judicial system. ... Show More

Feuding, arrests, protests: Poland’s gripping political drama

Poland's president, Andrzej Duda, and the country's new prime minister, Donald Tusk, are locked in a power struggle that’s testing the very foundations of the state. Poland has gone through turmoil as the new government reverses changes made by its predecessor. As tens of thousan ... Show More

Poland versus the EU

Between a smack and a hard place — Poland votes, Orbán provokes, and Brussels shows its teeth

Slaps were exchanged — some literal, some political — and suddenly Brussels isn’t just watching from the sidelines.This week on EU Confidential, we dive into a whirlwind of action across the continent: a presidential toss-up coming up this Sunday in Poland; Brussels turning up th ... Show More

Poland’s Foreign Minister on the Future of the War in Ukraine

Today on the show, Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski speaks with Fareed about Ukraine’s future and how Europe is responding to President Trump moving closer to Moscow. Next, NYU law professor Rachel Barkow joins the show to discuss the vulnerabilities of the US justice sys ... Show More

Deadly attacks on Israel and a bitter Polish election

In this episode of EU Confidential, POLITICO's Barbara Moens joins us to discuss the EU’s muddled response to the heinous attack on Israel in which Hamas killed over a thousand civilians and took dozens of people hostage, sparking outrage and disbelief. Then we turn our focus to ... Show More

Ep 127: European Parliament VP Katarina Barley — EU’s missing Iran response — All eyes on NATO

The podcast crew debates the EU’s response — or lack thereof — to the wave of protests rocking Iran and Tehran's latest violation of the Iran nuclear deal. POLITICO's chief Brussels correspondent David Herszenhorn joins the panel to report that French President Emmanuel Macron's ... Show More

Pawel Jablonski: Why is Poland blocking the EU's budget?

The EU is facing an internal political crisis. Two members, Poland and Hungary, are blocking the passage of a new budget and a post-Covid recovery package, claiming it includes unacceptable conditions. At issue is the EU's ability to tie funds to members' adherence to core EU val ... Show More