Sarah Wheaton

Brussels

Chief Policy Correspondent at POLITICO Europe

Chief Policy Corresp @POLITICOEurope. Co-author Brussels Playbook, host EU Confidential pod. Frmr: WH @POLITICO; politics @NYTimes. swheaton at politico . eu

Articles

Between a smack and a hard place - Poland votes, Orbán provokes, and Brussels shows its teeth

1 week ago | politico.eu | Sarah Wheaton |Dionisios Sturis |Anne Mcelvoy

Listen on Spotify Apple Music Amazon Music Slaps were exchanged — some literal, some political — and suddenly Brussels isn’t just watching from the sidelines. This week on EU Confidential, we dive into a whirlwind of action across the continent: a presidential toss-up coming up this Sunday in Poland; Brussels turning up the pressure on Hungary over LGBTQ+ rights; and the EU’s rare public rebuke of Israel’s Gaza offensive. Meanwhile, Donald Trump calls Putin “crazy” — but Europe is left...
Point of Budapest Pride

1 week ago | politico.eu | Sarah Wheaton

Presented by PPC By SARAH WHEATON with ZOYA SHEFTALOVICH PRESENTED BY HOWDY. Sarah Wheaton here with you for this Tuesday edition of Brussels Playbook, where we offer this cautionary tale of a failed effort to curry favor with the White House.
Border control boogie

2 weeks ago | politico.eu | Sarah Wheaton

Presented by Hydrogen Europe By SARAH WHEATON with ZOYA SHEFTALOVICH PRESENTED BY HOWDY. Sarah Wheaton here for your Friday edition of Brussels Playbook.
Leo Varadkar on Donald Trump, and the EU’s Israel dilemma

2 weeks ago | politico.eu | Sarah Wheaton |Dionisios Sturis |Anne Mcelvoy

Listen on Spotify Apple Music Amazon Music The EU-Israel relationship is at a tipping point. This week on EU Confidential, host Sarah Wheaton breaks down how EU leaders are calling for scrutiny of a long-standing trade agreement between Brussels and Israel, as Gaza faces famine amid an ongoing Israeli military offensive. Rym Momtaz, editor-in-chief of the Strategic Europe blog at Carnegie Europe and an expert on European and Middle Eastern politics, joins to explain what’s driving the shift —...
Tractors return to chaotic Brussels

2 weeks ago | politico.eu | Sarah Wheaton

Presented by Hydrogen Europe By SARAH WHEATON with ZOYA SHEFTALOVICH PRESENTED BY HOWDY. Sarah Wheaton here with you for this Tuesday edition of Brussels Playbook, where we’d just like to offer un gros merci to France for helping us fulfill our earliest aspirations.
So. Much. Voting.

3 weeks ago | politico.eu | Sarah Wheaton

Presented by Philips By SARAH WHEATON PRESENTED BY HOWDY. Sarah Wheaton here, bringing you this Friday edition of Brussels Playbook, helping you get ready for a weekend of votes in Romania, Poland, Portugal and, of course, around the continent for the Eurovision Song Contest.
The crown slips: How queen Ursula failed her transparency test

3 weeks ago | politico.eu | Sarah Wheaton |Dionisios Sturis |Anne Mcelvoy

Listen on Spotify Apple Music Amazon Music Those text messages Ursula von der Leyen didn’t want to share? The EU’s top court says that’s not OK. In a win for transparency advocates, Europe’s judges have ruled that the European Commission was wrong to hold back von der Leyen’s text exchanges with Pfizer’s CEO during vaccine contract negotiations. POLITICO health reporter Mari Eccles joins host Sarah Wheaton to unpack what the ruling means for Brussels, for von der Leyen’s leadership style, and...
Back of the line

3 weeks ago | politico.eu | Sarah Wheaton

Presented by Philips By SARAH WHEATON with ZOYA SHEFTALOVICH PRESENTED BY HOWDY. Sarah Wheaton here with you for this Tuesday’s Brussels Playbook, where we are getting into the spirit of the season. Yes, folks, the Eurovision Song Contest finals are approaching.
Putin parades his influence

4 weeks ago | politico.eu | Sarah Wheaton

Presented by Instagram By SARAH WHEATON with ZOYA SHEFTALOVICH PRESENTED BY HOWDY. Sarah Wheaton here, welcoming you to this Friday edition of Brussels Playbook.
Populist currents and fragile coalitions: Trump’s shadow over Europe

4 weeks ago | politico.eu | Sarah Wheaton |Dionisios Sturis |Anne Mcelvoy

Listen on Spotify Apple Music Amazon Music Europe’s political center is wobbling. Again. In Germany, a dramatic Bundestag vote leaves new Chancellor Friedrich Merz bruised before he’s even begun. In Romania, the first round of the presidential election wipes out the mainstream — and puts a Trump-admiring provocateur on top. EU Confidential breaks down a week of shaken coalitions, rising populists, and what they all say about the shifting balance of power in Europe. Host Sarah Wheaton is...