Costa tours the capitals — while Merz rallies the penny-pinchers

António Costa is kicking off a tour of EU capitals to find out what leaders want from the bloc’s next seven-year budget — and what they might accept in return for a deal. His first stop is Bratislava, with Slovakia among the countries pushing to protect cohesion and agricultural funding. Later this week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will gather like-minded northern countries in Berlin to argue for a much leaner budget and major cuts to the Commission’s nearly €2 trillion proposal. Zoya Sheftalovich and Ian Wishart look at the competing campaigns as negotiations head into a crucial period. Next, an argument inside Europe’s socialist family over Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen and her cooperation with Giorgia Meloni on migration has raised questions about whether the tensions could spill into the Socialists & Democrats group in the European Parliament. Plus: Greece is trying to turn the buzz around Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey into tourist money. With parts of the film shot in the Peloponnese, regional authorities are building an “Odyssey Route” — hoping the movie can leave the kind of lasting tourism legacy Mamma Mia! did on Skopelos. Have you ever been convinced to visit a place after seeing it in a movie? Get in touch! You can message us or send a voice message to our WhatsApp here or at +32 491 05 06 29. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Episoder(652)

The race for the EU’s plum diplomatic jobs begins

The race for some of the EU’s most coveted diplomatic jobs is under way. Zoya Sheftalovich and Nick Vinocur unpack why this year’s routine EEAS rotation is attracting unusually strong interest from s...

5 Okt 16min

Russia's not-quite-war on Europe

Europe’s gray-zone war with Russia is getting harder to ignore. Sarah Wheaton speaks to security expert and author Elisabeth Braw about how Europe should respond as sabotage, arson, cyberattacks and ...

2 Okt 34min

The €865 billion brainstorming session

Ukraine’s prime minister is warning of a $20 billion defense funding gap as Russia intensifies its attacks and Kyiv struggles to protect its skies and keep the country running. Zoya Sheftalovich and S...

1 Okt 16min

Is Bardella too toxic for Le Pen’s campaign?

Ursula von der Leyen is heading on her annual tour of the Western Balkans to visit some of the countries in line to join the EU. But Bosnia & Herzegovina and Serbia, two accession hopefuls, are not on...

30 Sep 16min

Trump, diesel and Europe's new energy squeeze

Another surge in energy prices risks making life even more expensive for Europeans — especially once winter rolls around. So when EU energy ministers meet in Dublin today, affordability will be at th...

29 Sep 15min

SPONSORED EPISODE: What is polyester worth?

A new era for European defense?

Europe’s defense ministers are meeting today to discuss whether the EU needs its own version of NATO’s article 4. This so-called Emergency Security Protocol would allow capitals to bring together all ...

28 Sep 18min

The Pope is fretting about frontier AI — what’s the EU’s answer?

European lawmakers this week called for the EU’s artificial intelligence regulations to hold American tech companies liable for the risks their most advanced models pose to humanity. But how much sway...

25 Sep 35min