This week, we’re taking a breath. EU Confidential is stepping away from summits, trade battles, and late-night trilogues — and turning to something more refreshing: books.

Host Sarah Wheaton is joined by audio producer (and self-confessed book nerd) Dionisios Sturis for this special summer reading edition. From sharp political non-fiction to playful fiction, poetry and literary escapes, we’re sharing what EU insiders are packing in their holiday bags — and what they think you should read this summer.

You’ll hear from:

-Kaja Kallas, the EU’s top diplomat

- Jessica Rosencrantz, Sweden’s minister for EU affairs

- Glenn Micallef, Commissioner for intergenerational fairness, youth, culture and sport

- And from listeners and colleagues with their own smart, silly, brainy and bloody picks

We also speak with Jeroen Reijnen, author of "Big in Brussels" — an insider’s guide to surviving (and thriving) in the EU bubble.
So pour yourself something cold, put your phone on silent, and dive in.
And here is our summer reading list:

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Trillions of euros, almost as many priorities — and just over two years to agree. The European Commission has unveiled its sweeping new seven-year budget proposal, and the fight over where the money goes is already heating up.

Host Sarah Wheaton is joined by POLITICO’s Gregorio Sorgi and Bartosz Brzeziński to break down the big winners and losers in the 2028–2034 MFF (Multiannual Financial Framework, as the EU's long-term budget is known) — from slashed farm spending to a five-fold boost for defense and competitiveness. What’s the political vision behind the numbers? And what does the chaotic rollout tell us about Ursula von der Leyen’s grip on the process?

Then we shift to the escalating transatlantic trade fight. With Donald Trump having threatened 30 percent tariffs on EU exports, Brussels must decide whether to appease, retaliate — or something in between. You’ll hear highlights from a POLITICO Pro panel featuring trade reporters Camille Gijs and Ari Hawkins along with editor Doug Busvine.

If you’re interested in a Pro subscription, learn more here: https://www.politico.eu/why-go-pro/

Further reading:

Brussels slashes the EU farm budget, calls it a win. Farmers call it a declaration of war, by Bartosz Brzeziński, Lucia Mackenzie and Ferdinand Knapp

The muddled €1.8 trillion EU budget launch that exposes von der Leyen’s weaknesses, by Gregorio Sorgi

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Ursula von der Leyen survived a motion of censure — but not without sustaining damage. In Strasbourg, tensions within her pro-European coalition burst into the open, with allies accusing her party of flirting with the far right (again) and warning they could soon turn on her.

In this bumper episode, host Sarah Wheaton — who made the journey to Strasbourg — brings you insight from behind the scenes in the European Parliament. She speaks with Gheorghe Piperea, the Romanian hard-right MEP who authored the motion; Socialist Vice President of the Parliament Katarina Barley; and senior EPP lawmaker Siegfried Mureșan.

And in a gripping, deeply personal dispatch from Kyiv, Veronika Melkozerova takes us inside the terrifying reality of life under relentless Russian bombardment — a must-listen glimpse into the emotional and physical toll of war.

You can read Veronika's essay here: Reporter’s notebook: My deadly routine in Kyiv.

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Europe baked, the Atomium shut early — and Brussels finally unveiled its long-delayed climate target.

Host Sarah Wheaton speaks with POLITICO Climate Reporter Louise Guillot, Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Nick Vinocur and EU Politics Reporter Max Griera about the EU’s new 2040 goal: What a 90 percent emissions cut really means, why critics say it’s already being softened, and how Denmark’s presidency of the Council of the EU plans to juggle climate, migration and more amid stormy politics.

We also pull back the curtain on Ursula von der Leyen’s powerful gatekeeper, Bjoern Seibert — and on Viktor Orbán’s crackdown on Budapest Pride.

Later, POLITICO’s Cities Correspondent Aitor Hernández-Morales joins to explore how Europe’s cities are navigating the heat — both political and literal — and why so many mayors are now turning to Brussels for help with urgent issues like housing.

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This week’s episode of EU Confidential comes to you from the Europa building in Brussels. We’ve been covering not one but two high-stakes gatherings, starting with NATO’s June 24-25 summit in The Hague, where Donald Trump got the royal treatment. June 26 brought the EUCO summit in Brussels, where the real work began of figuring out how to fund the new 5 percent defense spending pledge that countries had taken on.

Host Sarah Wheaton is joined by POLITICO’s Clea Caulcutt and Nick Vinocur to unpack what went down at both meetings. Later we head into the real palace intrigue: The European Commission’s threat to pull a minor Green Deal law triggered a revolt among centrist lawmakers and is now raising big questions about Ursula von der Leyen’s political future. We break it down with POLITICO’s sustainability reporter Marianne Gros, senior climate correspondent Karl Mathiesen, and politics reporter Max Griera.

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As NATO leaders prepare to endorse a dramatic defense spending hike, Europe faces a reckoning: Where will the money come from — and will new tanks mean cuts to pensions?

Host Sarah Wheaton speaks with Michelle Haas, a defense analyst at Ghent University and an associate fellow at the Egmont Institute, about how the proposed 5 percent target is landing across the continent — and how countries are planning to fund the military buildup (or pretend to in order to placate Donald Trump).

Then, two politicians, one from the center right and the other from the center left, explain why they think the push goes too far. Sammy Mahdi — leader of Belgium’s Flemish Christian Democrats (CD&V), a party in the country’s governing coalition — calls the 5 percent goal “crazy.” Ralf Stegner, a senior German Social Democrat, co-authored a provocative manifesto urging Chancellor Friedrich Merz to invest in diplomacy, not militarization.

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Bulgaria’s big step toward using the euro is a victory for European unity — but the country itself isn’t united on whether joining the common currency is a good idea. And if Sofia is actually jumping the gun, the risks to the whole eurozone are dire.

Izabella Kaminska, POLITICO senior editor and finance expert, joins host Sarah Wheaton to unpack the pros and cons of ditching the lev for both Sofia and Brussels

Then, Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania’s former foreign minister and one of Europe’s most hawkish voices on Ukraine and defense, stops by with a blunt message ahead of the June 24-25 NATO summit. He warns of EU complacency, calls for tougher action to support Kyiv, and offers a glimpse of his life after politics — including a forthcoming memoir and whether a return to the spotlight might be in the cards.

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Trump is finally facing some resistance. Can Europe seize the moment?

This week on EU Confidential, host Sarah Wheaton speaks with Swedish Member of the European Parliament Karin Karlsbro, just back from Washington, about how Brussels is reading the room in D.C. — and whether there’s any real appetite for a “beautiful trade deal” before Trump’s July tariff deadline.

We also hear from POLITICO’s news editor Josh Berlinger in Paris and national security reporter Amy Mackinnon in Washington, as they unpack a rare burst of old-school transatlantic coordination — with U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal crisscrossing Europe to rally support for sweeping new sanctions on Russia.

Plus: What Poland’s surprise presidential result — and a MAGA-adjacent win — could mean for Donald Tusk and the EU.

And do start eyeing your bookshelf as we call for summer reading tips.

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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 the pressure on Hungary over LGBTQ+ rights; and the EU’s rare public rebuke of Israel’s Gaza offensive. Meanwhile, Donald Trump calls Putin “crazy” — but Europe is left wondering whether that means anything at all.
Host Sarah Wheaton is joined by POLITICO’s Jan Cienski, Clea Caulcutt and Nick Vinocur to break it all down.

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The EU-Israel relationship is at a tipping point. 

This week on EU Confidential, host Sarah Wheaton breaks down how EU leaders are calling for scrutiny of a long-standing trade agreement between Brussels and Israel, as Gaza faces famine amid an ongoing Israeli military offensive.

Rym Momtaz, editor-in-chief of the Strategic Europe blog at Carnegie Europe and an expert on European and Middle Eastern politics, joins to explain what’s driving the shift — and whether it could lead to real consequences.

Later, former Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar drops into the studio to strategize on how to handle Trump 2.0, the rise of “identity politics” globally and the EU-U.K. rapprochement.  

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