Erdoğan, not Trump, is Europe's new best friend on security

Ekrem İmamoğlu, Istanbul’s mayor and the main political rival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has been arrested. So what is Europe doing about it? Staying pretty quiet, it seems. Mass protests are breaking out across Turkey but Brussels is keeping its counsel. In this episode Sarah Wheaton speaks with Aslı Aydıntaşbaş, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution and a former journalist in Turkey, about what’s really driving Erdoğan’s shift toward authoritarianism and how Europe is responding — especially with a view to Turkey’s growing importance for European security. But Europe’s focus isn’t all on defense. We also examine some of the EU’s overlooked policy changes, from food and textile waste to agriculture and medicine shortages. Sarah is joined by Politico’s experts on sustainability, agriculture and health — Marianne Gros, Bartosz Brzeziński and Rory O’Neill — for an insightful dive into what’s going on behind the scenes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Om Podcasten

EU Confidential is a weekly European news and politics podcast published every Friday by POLITICO Europe. Each 30-minute episode features POLITICO’s analysis of the top stories driving EU politics, as well as notable guests shaping European policy and deep-dive stories from around the Continent. It’s hosted by Sarah Wheaton, POLITICO’s chief policy correspondent, who is joined by reporters from around Europe. Discover our show notes for EU Confidential here: https://www.politico.eu/eu-confidential-podcast/