No Orbán, no excuses

Brussels Playbook Podcast

POLITICO

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.4 • 202 Ratings

🗓️ 21 April 2026

⏱️ 14 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

EU foreign ministers are meeting in Luxembourg today to discuss a hefty list of geopolitical crises. But compared with past gatherings, something feels ... different. That might be because, without the presence of an obstructionist Hungary, the meeting could finally result in movement on several key topics. Ian and Sarah discuss whether we can expect decisive action to be taken on issues like the unblocking of aid to Ukraine or possible sanctions against Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Next, we give you the lowdown on the election results in Bulgaria where ex-fighter-jet pilot Rumen Radev won big. Some diplomats here in Brussels are wondering if perhaps we’re looking at another Viktor Orbán type of leader. Also, with Brussels urging Europeans to cut back on travel to save fuel, MEPs are also scrutinizing their monthly trips to Strasbourg. Finally, we have a message from our host Zoya Sheftalovich, who's on vacation in Australia ... and isn't very happy with Ian. That's not all: Carrie Budoff Brown, our executive editor, also dials in with a special birthday shout out. Do you have 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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0:23.4	Good morning. It's Tuesday the 21st of April and this is the Brussels Playbook podcast.
0:35.8	The vibe in Brussels today is unleashed.
0:39.6	Will today be the first time in years that EU foreign ministers actually feel like they can say what they want?
0:45.2	Also on the podcast today, we will give you the lowdown on the election results in Bulgaria.
0:50.0	Spoiler alert, another EU country might be turning towards Russia.
0:53.3	And with Brussels urging Europeans
0:55.4	to cut back on travel to save fuel, members of the European Parliament are questioning what
1:00.5	the hell they're doing, dragging themselves to Strasbourg every month. I'm joined today by our
1:05.6	policy editor, Sarah Wheaton. Sarah, do you go to Strasbourg very much? I used to go pretty regularly
1:10.7	when Commission President Ursula von der Leyen kept having
1:14.3	no confidence votes.
1:15.7	No confidence votes, yeah.
1:17.4	I'm Ian Wishart, political senior EU politics editor.
1:20.6	Sarah's with me today.
1:22.4	Sarah will start to talk about the Foreign Affairs meeting, which is happening in Luxembourg
1:27.2	today.
1:27.6	And this is sort of a crucial one because it's obviously the first since the Hungarian elections just over a week ago now.
1:33.5	And that could change the mood completely because it might be one of the first in years without the Hungarian foreign minister Peter Shiato in the room.
	...

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