POLITICO's EU Confidential

This week: the Omicron variant and its impact on Europe's coronavirus response, our editor-in-chief on China's approach to Europe and Amnesty International's boss on EU emergency migration measures.

POLITICO's Andrew Gray, Rym Momtaz and Sarah Wheaton break down Europe's response to the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus, the debate over making vaccines mandatory and the prospects for winter as cases continue to rise.

Making his podcast debut is our new Editor-in-Chief, Jamil Anderlini, who spent most of his career in Asia before making the leap to Brussels. He shares fascinating insights into China's view of Europe, the changes to the country he has seen under Xi Jinping and potential future flashpoints between Beijing and the West.

Agnès Callamard, the secretary-general of Amnesty International, is our special guest. She spoke with POLITICO's Hans von der Burchard during a trip to Brussels this week, just as the European Commission was unveiling new measures related to the arrival of refugees and migrants on the EU's border with Belarus.

Programming note: The EU Confidential crew is hosting virtual holiday drinks on Monday, December 13 at 7 p.m. CET. It's a chance to meet the people behind the podcast, ask your questions and be a part of a live taping of our end-of-year show! If you'd like to join via Zoom, email us at [email protected] for more information.

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Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg, France's Europe minister Clément Beaune and Dutch political theorist and author Luuk van Middelaar all feature in this episode. Plus, we dive into Germany's new government.

POLITICO's Matthew Karnitschnig has the details on the coalition agreement struck this week between Germany's Social Democrats, Greens and liberals. Matt also brings us an exclusive interview with Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg about his plans for Europe’s first compulsory coronavirus vaccine law.

Also this week, Rym Momtaz and Brussels Playbook co-author Jakob Hanke Vela spoke with Clément Beaune, France's secretary of state for European affairs. In the podcast, Beaune addresses how France will try to balance a presidential election in April with its presidency of the Council of the EU, which begins in January. He also responds to the latest fishing row between the U.K. and the EU. You can watch the full POLITICO Live interview here.

We hear too from Luuk van Middelaar, the Dutch political theorist and former EU official who is also the author of an acclaimed series of books on the European Union. In conversation with POLITICO's Andrew Gray, van Middelaar walks us through the ups and downs of the EU's pandemic response, as described in his new book: "Pandemonium." He also addresses the growing tensions within the EU over the rule of law and democratic norms.

And finally, back in January, we introduced you to Dutch documentary filmmaker Nadine van Loon, who was working on a film called "Notes from Brussels" — chronicling the struggles of people, particularly women, trying to thrive both personally and professionally in the so-called "EU bubble." After she appeared on the podcast, Nadine secured crowdfunding to finish the film, which will be showing at the Cinema Galeries in Brussels next month. You can find more details here.

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This week, we get the American perspective on European strategic autonomy and other issues facing the EU from Derek Chollet, the top adviser to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. We also unpack the dramatic denouement of the COP26 climate conference.

POLITICO's Senior Climate Correspondent Karl Mathiesen takes us inside the final day of the climate negotiations and the dramatic showdown over coal. In conversation with POLITICO's Chief Policy Correspondent Sarah Wheaton, Karl brings us exclusive audio from the conference and explains how a last-minute push by the world's biggest carbon emitters to "phase down" rather than "phase out" coal power put the entire agreement in jeopardy.

Then we hear from Derek Chollet, a foreign policy expert and top adviser to the U.S. secretary of state. POLITICO’s Chief Brussels Correspondent David Herszenhorn caught up with Chollet in Brussels this week. They start with a conversation on the main focus of his trip to Europe, a flare-up of tensions is Bosnia, and then tackle the migration crisis at the border of Belarus and Poland, EU enlargement and America’s thinking on European strategy autonomy.

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In this episode, we discuss Europe's coronavirus resurgence and the escalating migration crisis at the Polish border. Plus, we hear exclusively from Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen on the EU's efforts to rein in Big Tech.

As coronavirus cases soar across Europe and vaccine hesitancy lingers, POLITICO's Health Care Editor Doug Busvine and Health Care Reporter Ashleigh Furlong explain how Europe got to this point and what options officials are considering to stem the tide — especially as winter approaches.

Temperatures are also dropping at the border between Poland and Belarus, where tensions intensified this week. Thousands of migrants are trapped on the frontier between the two countries, and at least nine people have died. POLITICO's Matthew Karnitschnig speaks to Gerald Knaus, migration expert and co-founder of the European Stability Initiative, about the EU's options for diffusing the situation and finding a more permanent solution.

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen is our special guest. She spoke to POLITICO's Chief Technology Correspondent Mark Scott during her trip to Brussels, where she also testified in the European Parliament this week. Haugen addresses the risks of being a whistleblower and why she believes the European Union is primed to take on Big Tech companies to better police harmful online content.

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The COP26 climate talks, a top European tech entrepreneur and a return to the question of whether the EU is funny all feature in this week's episode.

POLITICO's Karl Mathiesen joins Andrew Gray and the podcast panel from the press tent at COP26 in Glasgow with the latest insights into what is, and isn't, being accomplished. Also in Glasgow, POLITICO's Esther Webber gives us the lowdown on how Boris Johnson and his government are faring as the host and whether he's playing nice with Scottish leaders. And POLITICO's Matthew Karnitschnig in Berlin tells us how green the next German government could be.

Then we move on to another big event taking place in Europe this week: Web Summit in Portugal. Ahead of the global tech gathering, POLITICO's Pieter Haeck sat down with one of Europe's most successful start-up founders, John Collison. The Irish native co-founded Stripe, an online payments platform, along with his brother, Patrick, a decade ago — and the company is now valued at $95 billion. He spoke to Pieter about the EU's start-up scene, how it differs from the United States and what he thinks policymakers can do to foster a stronger entrepreneurial ecosystem in Europe.

Finally, we return to a super-serious issue we tackled on the podcast earlier in the year: Is the EU funny? POLITICO's Paul Dallison tells us about the birth of a new EU institution — a monthly Brussels comedy night called The Schuman Show — that came about partly as a result of that episode of EU Confidential.

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We preview two big weekend events: the G20 summit and the start of COP26 climate talks. We also discuss liberalism and its current struggles with British author and journalist Ian Dunt.

POLITICO's David M. Herszenhorn joins Andrew Gray to lay out what G20 leaders in Rome hope to achieve on everything from COVID-19 to climate change. He also delves into who will and — maybe more interestingly — won't be attending.

Many of those leaders will make their way to Scotland to continue their conversations on climate. POLITICO's Senior Climate Correspondent Karl Mathiesen tells us what we should and shouldn't expect at the COP26 in Glasgow. (You can keep updated with every twist and turn of the conference by subscribing to our POLITICO Energy and Climate newsletter, which is usually only for our Pro subscribers but will be available for free during the two-week conference.)

Our reporter in Scotland, Andrew McDonald, gives us a taste of the troubles plaguing Glasgow — over everything from trash to trains — as it prepares to host tens of thousands of people in the coming weeks. He also explores how both the Scottish and U.K. governments plan to handle the conference — and their prickly relationship with each other.

Then we turn to special guest Ian Dunt, who talks about the past, present and future of liberalism, along with other issues raised by his latest book: "How To Be A Liberal: The Story of Freedom and the Fight for its Survival."

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We talk to Péter Márki-Zay, the man chosen by Hungarian opposition parties to take on Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Also in this episode, we have an update on the EU's rule-of-law battle and get you up to speed on talks to form a new German government.

As EU leaders gathered in Brussels to discuss everything from energy to trade, they couldn't escape another topic dominating the headlines: the recent Polish court ruling that challenged the legal bedrock of their union. POLITICO's Rym Momtaz joins Andrew Gray to explain how the ruling is being used by mainstream candidates vying to be the next French president to bash the bloc and assert France's national sovereignty.

And POLITICO's Matthew Karnitschnig brings us the latest on efforts to form a new German government by the center-left Social Democrats, the Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats.

Then we meet Péter Márki-Zay, selected by an alliance of opposition parties in Hungary to be their candidate for prime minister in a parliamentary election next spring. POLITICO's Lili Bayer caught up with Márki-Zay at a campaign rally in Budapest.

You can always send feedback or ideas directly to the podcast team at [email protected].

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On the agenda this week: The EU's plans to tackle soaring energy prices, Sebastian Kurz's resignation as Austrian chancellor and a Polish challenge to the primacy of EU law.

POLITICO's Zosia Wanat joins Andrew Gray to explain a bombshell decision by a top Polish court, which rejected the primacy of EU law over the national constitution in key areas. Zosia explains why it's a big, big deal and explores the repercussions for Warsaw and the EU. Rule-of-law reporter Lili Bayer talks through the EU's possible responses.

Zosia also reports on an effort by Poland and Hungary to get the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to strike down a new measure that allows the EU to cut off funds to countries considered to be breaching the rule of law.

In Vienna, POLITICO's Matthew Karnitschnig speaks with independent Austrian analyst Thomas Hofer about Sebastian Kurz's resignation as chancellor amidst stunning corruption allegations. We dive into the details of the scandal, as well as its implications for Austria and Europe's conservatives.

And finally, energy prices are top of mind for Europeans struggling to pay record-high bills. POLITICO's Aitor Hernández-Morales explains the causes of the price surge and unpacks the European Commission's plan to help the bloc address the crisis.

You can send feedback or ideas directly to the podcast team at [email protected].

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This week: The EU's place in the world — and the Western Balkans' place in the EU. And we dive deep into the murky world EU lobbying.

POLITICO's David M. Herszenhorn and Lili Bayer join Andrew Gray from Slovenia, where EU leaders met for a dinner discussion about the bloc's role on the international stage and held a summit with their Western Balkan counterparts.

David talks us through what French President Emmanuel Macron told him about whether France and the United States can patch things up after a big blow-up over a scuppered submarine deal.

Lili and David also discuss the divisions within the EU over letting Western Balkan countries into the club and the region's frustrations with the bloc.

And Lili outlines a recent in-depth story she and POLITICO's Zosia Wanat published about concerns that the EU's enlargement commissioner, Olivér Várhelyi of Hungary, has been favoring Serbia’s EU bid and playing down democracy concerns, according to officials and internal documents.

Then we turn things over to our Chief Technology Correspondent Mark Scott, who brings us up to speed on his series of investigations into European politics news sites that promoted the interests of governments, companies and wealthy individuals without disclosing connections to them.

The first story looks at Brussels news outlet EU Reporter and its blend of reporting and political advocacy, where it's often been impossible for readers to tell which is which.

The second examines EU Reporter’s relationship with Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications giant.

And the most recent article examines the wider web of individuals within the Brussels Bubble who blur the lines between journalism and pushing the agendas of commercial clients.

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We dive into the aftermath of the German election and take a closer look at Olaf Scholz, the favorite to succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor. We also unpack a new push by the EU and the U.S. to agree a common rulebook on tech and trade.

Following Sunday's German election, POLITICO's Andrew Gray and Matthew Karnitschnig get you up to speed on the talks in Berlin about forming the next government. And Brussels Playbook co-author Suzanne Lynch discusses how the outcome is going down with EU policymakers, and what questions they still have about Germany post-Merkel.

Olaf Scholz is in pole position to lead the next government after his Social Democrats came first in the election. But just who is he? Our Executive Producer Cristina Gonzalez caught up with Der Spiegel journalist Christiane Hoffmann in Berlin to shed light on the politician and the person.

Also, Chief Technology Correspondent Mark Scott, author of POLITICO's weekly Digital Bridge newsletter, has the latest on Wednesday's inaugural meeting of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council in Pittsburgh. Mark explains why the council is such a big deal and breaks down where the two sides stand on the key issues.

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