Ep 173, presented by the European Commission: Pandemic politics — Farming feuds — Hospitality hopes

Political activity in a pandemic, transatlantic turbulence, the EU's farming future and what the hospitality industry wants from politicians to weather the coronavirus crisis are all up for debate in this episode of EU Confidential.

POLITICO's Andrew Gray, Rym Momtaz and Matthew Karnitschnig ask whether politics as usual is possible in a pandemic, as more politicians go into protective quarantine or test positive for COVID-19. Matt expands on his recent article, Trump, Biden and the ‘f****** Germans’, while Rym gives us a sense of what French politicians are thinking about the U.S. elections. Our agriculture reporter Eddy Wax breaks down the key points in a battle royale over greening European agriculture, with a big chunk of the EU's budget at stake.

Europe's top hospitality lobbyist, Marie Audren, is our special guest to discuss the pandemic's impact on one of the Continent's biggest industries — tourism. As the director-general of HOTREC, the umbrella association of hotels, restaurants and cafés in Europe, she sets out what the sector wants from national and EU authorities to get through the crisis.

The podcast panel returns at the end of the show for a new feature — recommendations to help keep us all engaged and entertained as we’re forced to spend more time at home. Matt picks a German unsolved mystery on Netflix. Rym is in election mode, recommending a documentary and a related mini-series on Fox News and its controversial chief (both available on Amazon prime). And Andrew comes through with a BBC Sounds podcast about the Vietnam war, with an unconventional but compelling storytelling format.

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