In this episode we unpack the EU’s new buzzword and the main point of discussion at this week’s European Council summit: competitiveness. We also bring you another new buzzword from Brussels this week: Bolshewokism.
Host Sarah Wheaton is joined by POLITICO’s chief Brussels correspondent, Barbara Moens, to recap the leaders’ summit and their attempt to make the bloc’s economy more competitive with regards China and the United States. We also discuss former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta’s newly released report on how to overhaul the EU’s single market, and we hear from Letta himself, in conversation with POLITICO’s own Giovanna Faggionato.
Later, we have a fascinating discussion with Atlantic Council senior fellow and author Elisabeth Braw about her new book “Goodbye Globalization: The Return of a Divided World.”
And we end our episode explaining how the word “Bolshewokism” came to describe a National Conservatism Conference, featuring Nigel Farage and Viktor Orbán, which was upended by local Brussels mayors.
Further Reading:
“Time for a European single market ‘with teeth’ to take on China, India, leaders told,” by Giovanna Faggionato and and Bjarke Smith-Meyer
“A new inconvenient truth: Europe’s global plans all require money no one has,” by By Karl Mathiesen, Barbara Moens, Giovanna Faggionato and Giorgio Leali
“Europe’s hard-right bags big win after ‘own goal’ by Brussels mayors,” by Eddy Wax