The Importance of Central and Eastern Europe in the EU

"We have created the best Europe there has ever been" — so says Timothy Garton Ash, this week's special guest. Meanwhile, former vice president of the European Parliament, Eva Kaili, is fighting more criminal allegations, this time for a kickback scheme involving four of her former assistants and approximately €100,000.

Host Suzanne Lynch is joined by POLITICO's politics reporter, Eddy Wax, who has been following the saga of Greek MEP Kaili since her arrest late last year in the Qatargate scandal. Now, under house arrest, Kaili faces renewed scrutiny as further evidence of her involvement in three potentially fraudulent activities has come to light in documents obtained by POLITICO earlier this week. Her lawyers deny all wrong-doing on her behalf and are fighting to maintain the parliamentary immunity she currently enjoys.

If you're wondering what exactly this immunity entails, listen for this week's EU jargon-busting blast!

British historian Timothy Garton Ash talks to us about his new book, "Homelands: A Personal History of Europe," which "isn't a book about Brussels or the EU" but does grapple with vital questions like how Europe's past will shape its future. Garton Ash believes Germany and the war in Ukraine hold the key to this future. He also weighs up the chances of Britain's return to the EU.  

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