With the European Parliament election only one month away, there is feverish speculation about who will get the top jobs of Commission President, President of the Council, and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. With predictions of a far-right surge and the influence of domestic politics, this electoral cycle will be crucial in shaping the very future of European politics. 

Live from the ECFR staff retreat in Bologna, Mark Leonard welcomes Jana Puglierin, Célia Belin, José Ignacio Torreblanca, Arturo Varvelli, Maria Simeonova, and Piotr Buras, the heads of our Berlin, Paris, Madrid, Rome, Sofia, and Warsaw offices, respectively, to discuss the election. In addition to giving their best guesses as to who will get what jobs, they will take a closer look at how domestic politics is likely to influence the elections and shape the Europe that emerges from them. 

The podcast was recorded on 28 April 2024

Bookshelf 

Battle redux: Macron, Le Pen, and France’s European election campaign by Célia Belin 

The long shadow of the populists: Donald Tusk’s first 100 days by Piotr Buras 

Turning point or turning back: German defence policy after Zeitenwende by Jana Puglierin 

Hanging in the balance: How to save Bulgaria’s foreign policy from political turmoil by Maria Simeonova 

La hora más crítica de la Unión Europea by José Ignacio Torreblanca 

The Atlantic is not enough: The Italian government’s difficult relations in Europe by Arturo Varvelli  

The European Union as a War Project: Five Pathways toward a Geopolitical Europe by Mark Leonard  

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