Ep 191: German election journey — EESC in spotlight

Brussels Playbook Podcast

POLITICO

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.4 • 204 Ratings

🗓️ 11 March 2021

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Our Trans-Germany Express stops first in Stuttgart to speak with POLITICO's Laurenz Gehrke about Sunday's regional elections. Then we head to Düsseldorf, where Matthew Karnitschnig picks out national candidates and parties to keep your eye on. In Magdeburg, capital of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, we talk to climate reporter Kalina Oroschakoff about some of the big campaign issues. Matt returns to Berlin, where we discuss what to expect on the big day — September 26 — and afterward as a new government is formed. Finally, in Brussels, politics reporter Hans von der Burchard assesses the election's potential impact on the EU. The last part of the podcast turns the spotlight on the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) — an EU institution that's not so well known but has generated more than its share of controversy lately. New EESC President Christa Schweng talks to Hans about the criticism leveled at her institution — over its relevance, its cost and its policy of paying allowances for attending virtual meetings. Schweng explains why she thinks EESC still has a useful role to play in EU lawmaking. She also talks about the organization's new code of conduct, adopted after one of its senior members was accused of (and denied) psychological harassment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This conference has to go beyond Brussels because for this conference to succeed, we want to reach what some call the silent majority.
0:10.9	We want to hear from European citizens in their full diversity.
0:16.8	Welcome to EU Confidential, the number one European politics podcast. I'm Andrew Gray, Politico's
0:23.1	EU editor in Brussels. And you just heard European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen,
0:29.1	speaking after she and other EU leaders finally signed an agreement to launch a conference
0:35.1	on the future of Europe after months of wrangling over who should lead it and what it should do.
0:41.3	There will be plenty of time for us to delve into the conference after it actually starts in May and runs for a year.
0:48.3	But we will be exploring the future of Europe this week in another way as we look in depth at Germany's big election year,
0:57.1	which will mark the end of the Merkel era and we'll ask what comes next.
1:02.8	And later you'll learn more about an EU institution that's not so well known,
1:07.4	but hasn't been short of controversy lately.
1:10.1	That's the European Economic and Social
1:12.3	Committee. We'll hear from its president. But first, the EU confidential crew is longing for the
1:19.1	days when we can travel once again. We're sure that's the same for many of you. So we decided
1:25.4	to take an imaginary trip together to and around Germany.
1:34.5	My name and gentlemen, in name of the German Bairn and EU Confidential,
1:45.2	we're here
1:46.2	in Intercity Express 611
1:49.1	on the part
1:50.3	to Stuttgart
1:51.5	Hauptbarnoff.
1:53.4	So it's a big year in Germany,
	...

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