EU Confidential POLITICO

Is American politics giving you whiplash? This week’s episode of EU Confidential has all you need to cope, with primers on the foreign policy postures of Vice President Kamala Harris and JD Vance.
Dialling in from Washington, POLITICO National Security Reporter Eric Bazail-Eimil helps us understand who Harris will lean on when it comes to Europe, while Global Playbook author Suzanne Lynch recounts her interview with Vance on U.S. support for Ukraine. 
Next, a literal trigger warning: We take you inside a training camp in Germany where Ukrainian soldiers are learning how to build trenches and raid buildings for urban warfare. With mysterious drones flying overhead and gunfire ringing in their ears, Senior Defense Reporter Josh Posaner joins Executive Producer for Audio Cristina Gonzalez for an immersive audio tour of this undisclosed location. 
Further readings:
‘Invisible’ Kamala Harris struggles to win over Europe, by Suzanne Lynch and Ben Munster
Trump’s VP pick spells ‘disaster’ for Europe and Ukraine, by Suzanne Lynch
What a Kamala Harris foreign policy could look like, by Eric Bazail-Eimil, Joe Gould, Miles J. Herszenhorn and Phelim Kine
Mysterious drones keep watch as Ukrainians train in Germany, by Joshua Posaner and Cristina Gonzalez

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Big decisions awaited the new class of MEPs this week: Whether to back Ursula von der Leyen for a second term atop the Commission; which committee assignments to pursue; and, most urgently, which Parliament bar to visit to get away from it all.
Join host Sarah Wheaton for a romp through the Strasbourg seat of the European Parliament, and relive a week that was so crucial for Europe's direction over the next five years.
Sarah is joined by POLITICO's Eddy Wax, who takes us behind the scenes of all the horse-trading and political maneuvers during the week, in which the parliament's key leadership positions were decided and the legislature's support for von der Leyen was confirmed.
She also speaks to several MEPs including Hannah Neumann, a Green MEP from Germany who was reelected, and outgoing MEP Jan Zahradil — the long-serving (and sometimes controversial) Czech MEP, who reflects on his 20+ years in the Parliament and describes what has changed for Euroskeptic politicians in the hemicycle.

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Just days into his country's rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orbán again stunned other European leaders by setting off on a series of visits to Kyiv, Moscow and Beijing, styling himself as a peace negotiator with a mandate from Brussels.
Host Sarah Wheaton and POLITICO's chief EU correspondent Barbara Moens discuss Orbán's rough-and-tumble diplomacy tour and reactions it has provoked among the bloc's politicians and diplomats. But beyond angry tweets and statements clarifying that Orbán represents only his own country and not the bloc as a whole, are there other, more effective ways to rein in a leader whom is viewed as out of line?
Then we zoom in on Washington, where NATO leaders have gathered for their annual summit to celebrate the alliance's 75th anniversary and pledge continued support for Ukraine. Joining us from Washington is Stuart Lau, POLITICO's NATO correspondent.
Finally, we have a conversation with José Manuel Barroso, who previously led the European Commission for 10 years. He reflects on the results of the European elections and offers advice to Ursula von der Leyen and other European leaders on what can be done to boost people's support for EU integration.
Further reading and listening:
French election shocker: reaction and analysis, by Nicholas Vinocur, Marion Solletty and our Paris team
EU fumes at rogue Orbán, but struggles to rein him in, by Barbara Moens
Orbán parrots Putin’s lines on Ukraine in leaked letter to EU chief, by Csongor Körömi and Barbara Moens
Divided, reshuffled and politically bruised: Europe’s leaders head to the NATO summit by Stuart Lau and Laura Kayali
NATO backs Ukraine’s ‘irreversible path’, names China a ‘decisive enabler’ in Russia’s war, by Stuart Lau

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France has voted and the results are in — our POLITICO team in Paris discusses the surprising results of the final round of the parliamentary election in this special episode of EU Confidential.
Host Nicholas Vinocur is first joined by POLITICO's Victor Goury-Laffont to break down the results and explain how President Emmanuel Macron’s centrists and the left-wing alliance mobilized to stymie Marine Le Pen’s far right National Rally.
POLITICO's executive editor in France, Marion Solletty, joins the podcast to discuss where France goes from here.
We also hear from POLITICO's Giorgio Leali, calling in from the National Rally's election event, and Nicolas Camut, checking in from one of the left-wing alliance’s parties, France Unbowed.
We hope you enjoy this special episode of EU Confidential from Paris. We'll be back in your feeds on Friday, as usual.

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Just days before the final round of France's snap parliamentary elections, we discuss possible scenarios for what could emerge from the messy political situation in Paris: shiny new leaders, a shaky new government, rocky cohabitation — or even more chaos.
Host Sarah Wheaton talks to POLITICO's senior correspondent in Paris, Clea Caulcutt.
Later she's joined by former U.S. Ambassador to the EU Anthony Gardner and the director of the German Marshall Fund's Berlin office, Sudha David-Wilp. They break down the reactions of European leaders to President Joe Biden's poor performance in last week's debate with challenger Donald Trump, their doubts over Biden's prospects in November's election, and how Europe is approaching the possibility of Trump 2.0.
Finally, to mark the start of Hungary's presidency of the Council of the EU, we have a dispatch from POLITICO reporter Eddy Wax, who sailed down the Danube recently on a trip to Budapest.
If you're hungry for more election coverage, please tune in to POLITICO's Power Play, Westminster Insider and Politics at Jack and Sam's. This week they'll all be tackling the July 4 general election in the U.K.
Programming alert! A special episode with news and analysis on the results of the second round of the French elections will be delivered to your feed on Monday morning. Don't miss it!

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Straight from the European Council summit, we bring you the latest news and analysis on a range of tough issues on the leaders' agenda.
Host Sarah Wheaton is joined by POLITICO colleagues Barbara Moens and Aitor Hernández-Morales to discuss how EU leaders agreed on who they want to lead the top EU institutions over the next five years.With Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a special guest at the summit, EU leaders also talked about Ukraine — following the official opening of accession talks between Brussels and Kyiv earlier this week.
Finally, we speak to Clea Caulcutt, our senior correspondent in Paris. She unpacks the prospects of Sunday's first round of snap parliamentary elections.
Further reading:
EU leaders arrive to discuss top jobs at high-stakes meeting — live updates by POLITICO
Giorgia Meloni hits out at EU top jobs backroom deal by Barbara Moens, Hannah Roberts and Giorgio Leali
Far right seizes France’s conservative heartlands by Clea Caulcutt
French election: Your guide to a vote that is set to shake the EU and NATO by Clea Caulcutt

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