Putin’s ‘window of opportunity’ to test NATO

Brussels Playbook Podcast

POLITICO

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.4 • 204 Ratings

🗓️ 4 May 2026

⏱️ 15 minutes

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Summary

Europe yet again finds itself on the receiving end of Donald Trump’s ire. On Friday, the U.S. president threatened to raise tariffs on European cars to 25 percent, as frustration grows in Washington over the slow pace of an EU-U.S. trade deal. Trump had also called for withdrawing U.S. troops from Germany earlier in the week as a response to German leader Friedrich Merz’s sharp criticism of the Iran war. On the pod, Zoya and Nick discuss how Brussels and Berlin have scrambled to respond. Also on the show, some officials and lawmakers say that the next two years could be the perfect chance for Russian President Vladimir Putin to test the West’s commitment to NATO. But not everyone agrees with this take. Plus, almost 50 leaders have descended on Yerevan, Armenia for the European Political Community summit taking place today. Nick and Zoya explain why the presence of leaders like Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Canada’s Mark Carney is particularly significant. And finally, May 9 is Europe Day so we want to hear from you ... literally! What sound do you think best encapsulates the continent? Send it to us on our WhatsApp here or at +32 491 05 06 29. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Good morning. It's Monday, May 4th, and this is the Brussels Playbook podcast.
0:10.3	The vibe in Brussels today is dark and stormy, literally as well as figuratively, folks,
0:17.3	as the EU is reckoning with Donald Trump's renewed tariff threats.
0:26.4	And also on the pod, with NATO-looking fragile, officials are worrying that Vladimir Putin could test the NATO alliance in the next two years.
0:30.6	And leaders from across the continent and beyond are in Armenia for the European Political
0:35.0	Community Summit.
0:36.8	I'm Zoya Shafhtalovic, and with me today is Nick Vinica, our chief foreign affairs correspondent. Hey, Nick. Hey. Did you have a nice long weekend? It's been fantastic. What did you get up to? Well, I celebrated International Workers Day by downing tools. Good for you. Withholding labor for that day. Phenomenal in the spirit of it all. I'm celebrating May the 4th today, Star Wars.
0:58.7	May the 4th be with you. Indeed, and also with you.
1:02.7	Nick, there's a trade spat between the EU and the US that's fired up again.
1:08.2	Here we go again.
1:09.7	It never ends. This time Donald Trump is
1:11.6	threatening 25% tariffs against Europe on its automobiles and auto parts. That's up from 15%,
1:18.3	which is going to hurt countries like Germany. Absolutely. Now, the EU has been stalling on ratifying
1:24.5	the EU-US trade deal, the Turnberry deal since last summer, because of
1:29.3	objections. But now Trump is ramping up the pressure again. Yeah, absolutely. And it's not a coincidence,
1:34.7	I would say, that he's ramping up that pressure just as the European Parliament this Wednesday
1:39.2	is expected to meet with the European Council to discuss a new proposal that's being made around this
1:45.3	Turnberry agreement with some various little tweaks and pools here and there to try to satisfy
1:50.7	MEPs who really want to go more gung-ho and say that this deal is not fair because it's
1:55.7	kind of lopsided because the US is getting no tariffs and the EU is going to have to swallow
2:00.6	15% tariffs.
2:02.0	As they used to say, this is the best deal we could get. That's what the European Council
	...

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