Berlin turns up the heat

Brussels Playbook Podcast

POLITICO

News, News Commentary, Politics

4.4 • 202 Ratings

🗓️ 27 April 2026

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Europe is staring down a familiar and unwelcome set of circumstances: rising energy prices, slowing growth and growing political pressure. As the fallout from the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran ripples through global markets, EU governments are scrambling to cushion the blow — with far fewer tools than they had when the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine triggered the last energy crisis. Zoya Sheftalovich is joined by Nick Vinocur to unpack what this new economic shock could mean — not just for households, but for Europe’s political center. Also on the pod: German conservatives turn up the heat on Ursula von der Leyen — and Belgium looks to keep the lights on in its shops a little longer. Got a question or a comment? Contact us on WhatsApp here or at +32 491 05 06 29. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:30.3	Good morning, it's Monday 27th of April, and this is the Brussels Playbook podcast.
0:46.9	The vibe in Brussels today is nightmarish as Europe races for the economic and political aftershocks of the Iran conflict.
0:50.5	And also on the pod, Berlin has a message to Ursula von der Leyen, cut the red tape, or else.
0:57.7	Plus, there's a plan to revitalise bricks and mortar retail in Brussels, which means shops are going to stay open later and also on Sundays.
1:05.7	Hey, it's me, Zoro Shoftal Oro, which I'm back from Australia.
1:09.4	Yay!
1:28.5	I've had a couple of weeks off and I'm back today. Nick Vinica is with me today too. Nick, before we get into all of the stuff that we need to talk about today, first off, let's start briefly in Washington where there was a shooting over the weekend at the White House Correspondence Dinner. And you were there last year,
1:45.9	weren't you? I was there, and that's what makes it sort of very weird and very close. I mean, this is the big politics and media rendezvous of the year in D.C. It's a mix of journalists, politicians, a bit of humor. Not the year I was there because it was boycotted by the president and the comics, but this year, Donald Trump, Melania Trump,
1:44.2	Vice President J.D. Vance, all turned out and were in the room
1:49.5	when this happened, which really kind of changes the atmosphere completely around this event.
1:53.5	Yeah, totally. And what we heard happened was that there was a shooter who attempted to gain
1:58.5	entry to the event. He was stopped nowhere near them.
2:01.3	That's the important thing, right, Nick.
2:03.0	It was the floor above.
2:04.3	The ballroom is underground, effectively, and the person was stopped on the kind of lobby of the hotel where it usually takes place.
	...

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