Briefed - Your Daily European Podcast

Last Sunday, Poles voted in the first round of presidential elections. Leading were Rafał Trzaskowski, mayor of Warsaw and candidate of Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s Civic Platform, and Karol Nawrocki of the conservative Law and Justice party. A runoff is set for 1 June. The race highlights Poland’s deep divisions. And this also has something to do with the right to abortion. Despite Tusk’s 2023 pr...

They say money talks. But sometimes, it whispers, behind closed doors, in Brussels boardrooms, and inside sleek offices of public affairs firms you’ve probably never heard of. While the world tries to phase out fossil fuels, a handful of lobbying and law firms are working hard to protect them. Not because it’s good for the planet, but because big oil still pays.  A new analysis by the Good Lo...

Today all eyes are on a very complicated relationship that ended with a breakup, the EU and the UK. Keir Starmer wants to reset this relationship and this week, that effort finally takes shape in the form of hosting the first official U.K.-EU summit since Brexit. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa, and the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kal...

With the fourth episode of A Grain of Power, the reportage trip which started in Ukraine and passed along the Western coast of the Black Sea reaches its final destination. In the Egyptian town of Mansoura and the capital city Cairo, bread maker Zainab and restaurant owner Kamal share their views on the importance of bread in their society. The episode analyses the impact of the shortage of wheat d...

May 19th is Europe’s Super Sunday with three elections: Romania, Poland and Portugal, that could reshape each country’s national trajectory and reverberate across the continent.  Romania’s presidential runoff has exposed deep political divides, with nationalist candidate George Simion facing centrist Nicușor Dan. In Poland, the first round of the presidential race is testing the balance of po...

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, never one to shy away from a bit of authoritarian flair, is back at it. His ruling Fidesz party has just introduced a bill that will be blacklisting and monitoring critical to his government media and NGO’s. But in what ways is the government planning to use this bill? Join us on our journey through the events that shape the European continent and the Europea...

A European Union court has just ruled that the European Commission was wrong, actually, very wrong,  to deny access to text messages exchanged between its President, Ursula von der Leyen, and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. These messages were sent in early 2021, at a time when the EU had fallen months behind the US and the UK in the race to secure Covid-19 vaccines.  Von der Leyen took matter...

Busy week this one for the world of diplomacy where moves and decisions made could determine the war in Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskyy has publicly accepted Vladimir Putin’s suggestion to have serious negotiations and challenged him to meet for direct peace talks this Thursday, in Istanbul. In this explosive mix add Donald Trump, who is visiting the region and wants to be part of these negotiations....

Albanians  voted this Sunday to decide whether to give Prime Minister Edi Rama a fourth term or side with his longstanding rival, Sali Berisha. From the current polls it looks like Prime Minister Edi Rama has secured a fourth term in office. His Socialist Party won a bit over 50% of the vote in Sunday’s legislative elections, enough to hold a solid majority in parliament, with 79 out of 140 s...

In the third episode of A Grain of Power, the team of reporters behind this documentary travels from Odessa, in Ukraine, towards Istanbul, in Turkey, passing through Constanza, in Romania. The trip sheds light on the impact of the war on Ukraine on the transport infrastructure of grain from Europe to the global South.  Through 6 episodes, A Grain of Power is a documentary podcast that takes y...

Habemus Papam! After just two days of deliberations, the Cardinals have chosen their 267th Pontiff: Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo the Fourteenth, the first American Pope in history. Seen as a centrist, Leo inherits a global congregation at a time of deep division and growing calls for reform. But, where does Pope Leo stand on key issues shaping our society today, from LGBTQ+ inclusion and w...

Today’s headline in all caps A “MAJOR TRADE DEAL” is on the horizon, or so says Donald Trump, who posted on social media that he’ll be announcing one at 10 AM sharp, 4pm for us,  from the Oval Office. The deal will be with “A BIG, AND HIGHLY RESPECTED, COUNTRY.” So, which country is getting the Trump treatment this time? And what is this deal actually about? Join us on our journey through the...

The 76th papal conclave is officially underway, and this one is already being called the most unpredictable in modern Church history. 133 cardinals from across the world have entered the Sistine Chapel, under Michelangelo’s famous Last Judgment and they’re now sequestered from the outside world to elect the next pope. This is the largest conclave ever. And like every time since 1276, the voting wi...

Germany has entered unfamiliar territory. For the first time in the history of the Federal Republic, a designated chancellor has failed to get elected in the first round of parliamentary voting. So, what happens now that Merz failed to secure a majority? Join us on our journey through the events that shape the European continent and the European Union. Production: By Europod , in co production wit...

This Monday, Israeli ministers agreed to ramp up their military campaign in Gaza as if they had ever slowed down. Now their new plan is to capture more territory, of whatever is left, draft tens of thousands of reservists of their military and continue striking what they call “militant infrastructure”. All this while Donald Trump is getting ready to visit the region. But will this visit shape the...

The second episode of A Grain of Power brings you to Ukraine. More specifically, we get to know the story of farmers in the Southwestern region of Mykolaiv, where families have suffered the destruction of their fields of wheat through bombs and mines. We also discuss the history of the weaponisation of grain through the voice of historian and professor Steven Kaplan. Through 6 episodes, A Grain of...

In this episode of Long Story Short , we turn our attention to Romania, where Sunday’s presidential election could redefine the country’s role in Europe and shift the balance of power in the region. With a far-right frontrunner promising to cut off military aid to Ukraine and challenge Romania’s pro-Western trajectory, the stakes are high, not just for Romanians, but for the entire European projec...

This week, the EU’s top court delivered a landmark ruling: Malta’s golden passport programme, which allowed wealthy foreigners to acquire Maltese, and therefore EU, citizenship in exchange for a cash investment, has been found illegal. According to the Court of Justice of the European Union, the scheme amounted to “the commercialisation of EU citizenship.” has violated the Treaty on the Functionin...

Abortion remains illegal in Malta and highly restricted in Poland, despite ongoing pressure from European institutions to uphold reproductive rights. In this episode of Europe Talks Back , we examine the historical and current influence of religious institutions on abortion policy across Europe, and the political forces maintaining these restrictions.  We are joined by Neil Datta, Executive D...

Today, our Long Story Short podcast is taking you outside of Europe, to the Mediterranean, to Tunisia. This may not be a strictly European story, but what happens in our neighborhood can have major implications for us too. Especially considering that just last year, Tunisia signed a 255-million-euro deal with the European Union to tackle irregular migration. The birthplace of the Arab Spring, is o...

Over the weekend, world leaders gathered in Rome to attend Pope Francis’ funeral, an event that quickly became a hotspot for high-stakes diplomacy. At the heart of these diplomatic moves was the very first face-to-face meeting of Donald Trump and Voldomyr Zelenskyy since February’s highly tense Oval Office encounter. In what way did this meeting shape the future of the war in Ukraine, and what sho...

The first episode of A Grain of Power starts in Trevignano, near Rome, Italy. It starts with the story of Culetti, a small modern bakery led by Mirko Magnano, who discusses the philosophy behind the business. More than 2000 kilometres away, Zainab describes the visceral relationship between Egyptian people and bread, as well as the challenges the local population encounters to access this essentia...

The European Union is currently investigating whether Hungary’s new plan to use facial recognition at LGBTQ+ Pride events on June 28th is even legal.  But what does Hungary’s surveillance move reveal about the strength of the EU’s AI Act? And will the European Commission take action this time around? Join us on our journey through the events that shape the European continent and the European...

US president Donald Trump, took to social media, again, to blame Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for blocking a peace deal with Russia. Only Russia has been launching a massive missile attack on Kiev since last night with Ukrainians looking for shelter anywhere underground. But is there a peace deal on the horizon and what does lifting sanctions on Russia mean for Europe and the US? Join u...

In the last episode of Sea of Rage, we travel back to Barbate and investigate what happened on the night of the 9th of February 2024, when two local police officers were killed by narco-gangs. We also meet Spanish prosecutors and researchers, trying to understand what the future might hold for Barbate. Sea of Rage is a reportage podcast dealing with the borderless narco-trafficking business as see...