Brussels Playbook
POLITICO’s must-read briefing on what's driving the day in Brussels, by Sarah Wheaton and Nicholas Vinocur.
Latest issues
Brussels’ blackout game plan
DELICIOUS SCHADENFREUDE: “See, big man, politics is harder than you thought,” Radosław Sikorski, the Polish foreign minister, said in a post on X last night. The barb …
Merz meets Trump 🍿
NO PRESSURE: Germany’s new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, arrived in Washington today. Did he get a good night’s rest on his transatlantic flight? Or did he burn the …
College grades day
IS IT TIMMY TIME? Frans Timmermans, Brussels’ much-loved former Santa Claus impersonator, suddenly finds himself eying up another potential chance to become Dutch prime minister after the …
Donald Tusk, defiant and defanged
HOWDY. Sarah Wheaton with you for this Tuesday edition of Brussels Playbook, where we are thinking of the newsroom expression, always uttered with irony: “Too good to …
Nawrocki wins Polish presidency
GREETINGS, and welcome to your week with Brussels Playbook. I’m Nick Vinocur, and we have plenty of news to get through, from nationalist Karol Nawrocki’s narrow win …
TACO Friday
HOWDY. A very hungry Sarah Wheaton here with you for this Friday edition of Brussels Playbook, where our transom has been full of coverage of TACO trade …
Court throws out Trump’s tariffs
GOOD MORNING. It’s Carlo Martuscelli writing Playbook today, taking a break from covering central banking to fill you in on what’s happening in the Brussels bubble and …
Israel wants peace (with Brussels)
GOOD MORNING. It’s Wednesday and I’m Tim Ross, “just joking around” in the open doorway of the Brussels bubble’s private jet, hoping for a moment of closeness …
Point of Budapest Pride
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 …
What did Ursula tell Donald?!
GREETINGS, this is Nick Vinocur. Sarah Wheaton will be with you Tuesday. DRIVING THE DAY: TRUMP-VON DER LEYEN CALL THAT MUST HAVE BEEN ONE HELLUVA “GOOD” CALL: …
Border control boogie
HOWDY. Sarah Wheaton here for your Friday edition of Brussels Playbook. If your street is piled with trash after this week’s bumper industrial action, there’s some good …
Europe’s center left goes missing
GRIM NEWS TO WAKE UP TO: Two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington were shot dead in the early hours of this morning, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security …
Losing friends, fast
KIDS SAY THE DARNDEST THINGS: If you’re contemplating a new job as a world leader, like, say, Romania’s Nicușor Dan, what you probably want most is your …
Tractors return to chaotic Brussels
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 …
EU exhales as centrists hold on in key elections
GREETINGS, and welcome to Brussels Playbook. I’m Nick Vinocur and we have a classic election special today with not one, not two, but three countries all reporting national …
So. Much. Voting.
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 …
Europe’s Trump report card is in
GOOD MORNING. I’m Gabriel Gavin, bringing you today’s dose of politics and policy in Brussels. It may be unseasonably sunny, but dark clouds have gathered over the …
VDL’s Pfizergate reckoning
GOOD MORNING. Spare a thought for Belgium’s Eurovision hopeful Red Sebastian, who was eliminated last night, despite being hotly tipped to do well, on his 26th birthday. “Life …
Back of the line
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 …
Zelenskyy puts ball in Putin’s court
A NEW ERA FOR D.C. PLAYBOOK: Big news from POLITICO’s flagship morning newsletter in Washington: Today we launch The Playbook Podcast, hosted by Managing Editor Jack Blanchard and newly …