The world is in crisis and the EU is doing ... nothing?

EU Confidential

POLITICO

Politics, News Commentary, News

4.4 • 175 Ratings

🗓️ 18 October 2024

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week’s episode of EU Confidential is a show about nothing. As in: Brussels’ endless lame-duck inertia. Sure, there’s still lots of yadda yadda yadda, but no real action coming out of the EU institutions despite multiple global crises (leaders at this week’s EU summit discussed migration, sure, but left Brussels having taken no concrete decisions on how to tackle it). Host Sarah Wheaton dissects the reasons for the hold-up — and why it matters — with POLITICO’s Barbara Moens and Nick Vinocur, as well as with Aaron McLoughlin, a seasoned Brussels lobbyist with deep experience working in the Parliament and the Commission. Meanwhile, there’s lots happening in the U.S. ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election. Earlier this week, POLITICO Live and the American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union hosted a debate about what candidates Kamala Harris or Donald Trump could mean for Europe. Facing off: former Republican Congressman Jack Kingston; Finnish MEP Aura Salla; and Bart M.J. Szewczyk, a former State Department official and Biden-Harris campaign insider. We bring you a juicy recap. Finally, our Berlaymont Who’s Who series looks at the unusual political trajectory of Belgium’s commissioner-designate, Hadja Lahbib, and her dual responsibility for crisis management and equality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:30.5	This is a show about nothing.
0:34.7	So if you're a TV geek, you might recognize that line from the show of Seinfeld.
0:39.0	That's a sitcom about narcissistic New Yorkers.
0:42.0	And we here at EU Confidential are, of course, about the very serious Brussels bubble.
0:48.4	But the nothing coming out of Brussels right now.
0:52.0	The lack of political action, despite multiple global crises, is starting to feel like a comedy
0:57.6	of the absurd or a tragedy.
1:01.2	Granted, we had a major election, and it takes some time for new lawmakers to get their
1:05.6	bearings and green light the new commissioners.
1:08.3	But that election was in June, and the confirmation process won't be
1:12.6	done, assuming everything goes smoothly until it's pretty much time to start Christmas break.
1:18.4	Of course, everyone keeps talking, talking, talking. MEPs are meeting, debating, non-binding resolutions.
1:26.5	The EU's lame duck mode means ambitions are low.
	...

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