Episode 11: EU rights expert Michael O'Flaherty — Poland's peril — Macron's make-up

Regular host Ryan Heath is back with an interview with Michael O’Flaherty, the head of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency. The interview, recorded at the European Alpbach Forum in Austria, looks at why human rights defenders have failed to make more headway in the face of populist challenges. O'Flaherty also talks about the European Commission's fights with Poland and Hungary and why he regrets Brexit from a human-rights perspective.

Also on the podcast this week, POLITICO's energy and climate editor Jan Cienski, one of our resident Poland experts, walks us through the key players in the European Commission's dispute with Warsaw over the government's role in the courts and its hardline positions on independent journalism and refugees.

In our "EU WTF" feature, Ailbhe Finn and Lina Aburous discuss Emmanuel Macron's massive make-up bill, his tour of eastern Europe, and the incredible lack of chemistry between chief Brexit negotiators Michel Barnier and David Davis.

And in the Dear POLITICO advice session, a European Parliament assistant recounts her distress at being asked by her boss to be "extra friendly" with other MEPs and their assistants to help him get the deals he wants.

You can contact the podcast team at playbook@politico.eu.

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