The Board of Peace, EU edition

Brussels Playbook Podcast

POLITICO

News, News Commentary, Politics

4.4 • 202 Ratings

🗓️ 20 April 2026

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week's agenda is brimming with high-level summits and meetings on foreign affairs. The EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, kicks it all off by focusing minds on Gaza. Today Kallas hosts back-to-back events to promote a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinian territories. Ian and Nick discuss how the EU is using the occasion to position itself as an authority on the future of Gaza and present an alternative worldview to Donald Trump's. Plus, they explain how Viktor Orbán's defeat in the recent Hungarian election could impact EU-Israel relations. Later, we unpack the key issues to be discussed at this week’s summit of EU leaders in Cyprus, and the potential knock-on effect it could have on the beleaguered tourism industry. Last, the EU is celebrating its birthday on the wrong day, according to some. Nick sets the record straight. Does your country have a culinary delicacy whose name resembles that of one of our hosts? If so, contact us on WhatsApp here or at +32 491 05 06 29. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Up next it's Bread Flair and his new band.
0:03.0	Oh my god, I'm back again.
0:06.0	On Befair Casino, everybody's been.
0:10.0	Gonna bring new games, gonna show you now.
0:14.0	New game party.
0:18.0	Droping hits every week. find the new slots
0:22.0	on back to be gamblerware.com.
0:28.6	That's right.
0:29.9	Good morning.
0:31.2	Oh, Monday morning's come around quick, don't they?
0:33.8	It's Monday the 20th of April.
0:35.2	And this is the Brussels Playbook podcast.
0:43.5	The vibe in Brussels today is consequential with talks here today about Israel and Palestine.
0:50.6	The Hungarian election, yes, that again has changed this dynamic for the EU too.
0:55.7	Also on the podcast today, we look at how EU member states might want to better protect each other,
1:00.2	a topic that's going to come up at this week's summit in Cyprus.
1:03.2	And finally, happy birthday to the EU.
1:06.0	You didn't know?
1:07.2	Well, there might be a reason for that.
1:08.5	We'll explore why Europe should or maybe should not be celebrating.
1:12.9	I'm Ian Wishart, and I'm joined today by Nick Vinika, our chief foreign affairs correspondent.
1:17.4	Hello, Nick.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from POLITICO, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of POLITICO and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.