100 days in, Europe’s top leaders are facing a reality check.
Ursula von der Leyen talks about a new sense of urgency — but is she leading, or just firefighting? António Costa wants to unify the bloc — but can he keep Europe together on defense? Kaja Kallas vowed to sharpen EU foreign policy — but after a snub in Washington, is anyone listening?
With transa ... Show More
Aug 7
Week Ender: Verhofstadt on "Trumpism", plus summer must-reads
It’s August in Brussels, which means it’s vacation time. Whether you’re heading off to the beach or holding down the fort in town, this episode is brimming with book recommendations from our newsroom and from you, our listeners. Whatever your genre preference, from true crime thr ... Show More
35m 2s
Aug 5
Europe's Palantir problem
Europe wants to kick its U.S. tech habit, but it’s struggling to detangle itself from American data analytics firm Palantir. The problem is, the company's tools are already deeply embedded in critical sectors across the bloc like policing, national defense and health systems. A r ... Show More
14m 26s
Oct 2023
EU Parliament President on Putin, Populism and the Biggest Problems it Faces
Europe today is being tested like never before in its recent memory—war and instability are on the edges of Europe, threatening to spill over into its borders; Russian influence and propaganda are sowing divisions across the continent, and rising inflation and unemployment are gi ... Show More
36m 47s
Jul 2019
Germany's von der Leyen takes up key EU leadership role
Ursula von der Leyen was confirmed this week as the new European Commission president. Katie Martin discusses the challenges she faces, not least the Brexit negotiations, with Ben Hall and Mehreen KhanContributors: Katie Martin, capital markets editor, Ben Hall, Europe editor and ... Show More
10m 26s
Mar 2016
Can Europe manage its refugee crisis?
EU leaders are preparing for an emergency summit against a grim backdrop: desperate scenes at the Greece-Macedonia border, where crowds of migrants are being beaten back from storming a fence with salvos of tear gas. Alex Barker, FT Brussels corrrespondent, looks at German chance ... Show More
3m 20s
Jun 2025
NATO summit 2025: How Europe can secure its future
This week, Mark Leonard is joined by Camille Grand, former NATO assistant secretary general and ECFR distinguished policy fellow, for a 15-minute Emergency Room episode dissecting the high-stakes NATO summit in The Hague. Against a turbulent geopolitical backdrop, world leaders n ... Show More
11m 15s