2025: The year untangled

As the sound of jingle bells draws ever nearer, Victor and Alex take you on a rollercoaster ride of the EU’s highs and lows of the past 12 months. Untangle with us a year of consequential elections, trade headaches, an increased focus on security and deregulation, a major new multi-annual budget for the EU and two failed attempts to oust the European Commission’s president. Tune in for the year untangled – the quick and dirty recap you didn’t know you needed to cheer goodbye to 2025. Hosts and producers: Victor Aguilar & Alexander Roth Research and communication support: Martina Domladovac Further reading Bulgaria and Romania join the Schengen Area (European Commission) Baltic states unplug from Russia and join EU power grid (BBC) Munich Security Conferences 2025: Speech by JD Vance and Selected Reactions (MSC) Competitiveness compass (European Commission) Ursula von der Leyen wins no-confidence votes as opposition struggles for support  (Politico) The 2028-2034 EU budget for a stronger Europe (European Commission) 2025 elections in the European Union (Wikipedia) Acting on defence to protect Europeans (European Commission) New Common European System for Returns (European Commission) EU and US agree trade deal, with 15% tariffs for European exports to America (BBC) EU to freeze €210bn in Russian assets indefinitely (The Guardian) Simplification [on the Commission’s omnibuses] (European Commission) Listen … to other EU Untangled episodes from 2025: From outsider to insider: how to enter the EU? Can Europe cash in on the digital euro? Tastes like Europe: how the EU protects its most famous products? Can the EU regulate AI intelligently? Explaining the EU: one meme at a time (with DG MEME) Can the EU have an army? Subscribe Spotify Apple Podcast RSS Feed Contact Website E-Mail Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Threads Mastodon Bluesky