Le Pen’s plan to end EU diplomacy

All eyes are once again on Ukraine this week, as a fresh round of diplomatic talks puts Europe’s future in the balance.

The continent’s focus will largely be on Ukraine as trilateral talks among the U.S., Kyiv and Moscow happen in Abu Dhabi. The stakes are high, as President Donald Trump’s promise of a “big, beautiful deal” that “might involve all of Europe” has capitals on edge. On the show, Zoya Sheftalovich and Nick Vinocur unpack potential outcomes from the talks.

Next, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has a new adversary: French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen. If she takes power in elections next year, Le Pen wants to dismantle — or at least drastically scale back — the EU’s diplomatic arm, the European External Action Service. What could that mean for Brussels’ influence on the world stage?

Finally, European leaders are gearing up for their first joint meeting on AI, but administrative delays threaten to derail their ambitions before they get off the ground.

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Articles mentioned in this episode:

• Marine Le Pen is coming after Kaja Kallas.
• The Kremlin call: How talking to Putin exposed Europe’s deepest rift over Ukraine.
• Putin may not want peace, warns Norwegian leader who spoke to him.
• EU countries still can’t get it together on AI.
  

This episode was produced by Saga Ringmar.

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