The ban threat facing Europe's far right

Brussels Playbook Podcast

POLITICO

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.4 • 204 Ratings

🗓️ 28 May 2026

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Europe’s far right is yet again under the microscope as a European Parliament watchdog moves to ban the Alternative for Germany’s EU party. On the show, Zoya Sheftalovich and Sarah Wheaton discuss how the far-right Europe of Sovereign Nations party — home to Germany’s AfD — risks losing EU funding and even its status as a political party. In a 300-page letter, the Authority for European Political Parties and Foundations cites evidence of anti-immigration, antisemitic and anti-LGBT rhetoric from its members. It argues this “casts doubt” on the ESN’s compliance with EU values. Next, we discuss how one of Europe’s oldest geopolitical disputes is spilling into preparations for this year’s U.N. climate summit. Turkey, which is hosting COP31 this November in Antalya, has effectively frozen Cyprus out of parts of the preparatory process. And finally: we dig into a very Brussels-y diplomatic food fight that’s been brewing quietly in the background for months. Questions? Comments? Send us a message — or even better, a voice note 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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0:00.0	Some follow the noise.
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0:13.8	there's a money-side to every story.
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0:22.9	Subscribe now at Bloomberg.com.
0:28.2	Good morning. It's Thursday, May 28, and this is the Brussels Playbook podcast.
0:46.1	The vibe in Brussels today is turbulent as a European Parliament watchdog moves to ban the alternative for Germany's EU party.
0:52.1	Also on the pod, Brussels, Ankara and Nicosia are clashing over climate summit preparations.
1:11.8	And Europe is locked in an increasingly fierce diplomatic fight over the UN's top food job. I'm Zoya Shephtalovich, and with me today is one of our policy editors and the host of our sister Brussels Playbook Weekender podcast, Sarah Wheaton. Hey, Sarah. Hey, Zoya. I'm glad I've got you on the show today to talk food. You're an expert in this area. In eating, basically, yes.
1:14.2	No, not just eating, but also agriculture.
1:14.8	Yes.
1:16.1	That's what I was getting at.
1:19.5	I mean, that was generous of you, but mostly I'm just here to eat.
1:23.4	Listen, we're all just here to eat. Live to eat, not eat to live.
1:29.7	Right, well, Sarah, our first story today, it's about the far-right Europe of Sovereign Nations Party.
1:35.0	That's the European-level party that's the home of the alternative for Germany, the AFD in Germany.
1:40.6	And yesterday, the watchdog that oversees the European political parties here in Brussels triggered a process that could result in the ESN party being stripped of its right
1:45.0	to be a political party and it could lose its funding.
1:48.4	Yeah, and so before we get deep into this, we should clarify, and this is one of those things
	...

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