Hungary’s Viktor Orbán is set to lose next month’s election, according to polls. Still, the EU is preparing for a world in which he wins. We spoke to 10 diplomats about five ways the bloc could cope with the Hungarian leader if he stays in power 👇 🔗 www.politico.eu/article/5-wa...

“The gloves will come off” if Orbán wins the election, said one senior EU diplomat, granted anonymity to speak freely along with 9 others in this article where @jacopobarigazzi.bsky.social i and I explore contingency options already making the round in Brussels www.politico.eu/article/5-wa...

Burger, sausage, and nuggets are fine for plant-based products, but drumstick isn’t—even though the word originally had nothing to do with food. So are drummers supposed to play with chicken legs now? www.politico.eu/article/vegg...

If Erdoğan’s opposition took power, Turkey would move quickly toward EU membership, says Istanbul’s acting mayor Nuri Aslan: “Within one or two years talks would accelerate, and maybe within three years we could join the EU” www.politico.eu/article/ista...

After Berlaymonster, BerlayGod? In today’s Playbook: von der Leyen’s powerful chief of staff Björn Seibert—not Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos—was summoned to defend the Commission’s idea of 'reverse accession'. One diplomat said they “don’t want to waste time” and “need to talk directly to God”

Kallas and von der Leyen didn’t speak to each other directly this weekend. This is the story of how the war in the Middle East further exposed uncertainties in the EU’s foreign policy chain of command

Here we go: A meeting of EU-27 ambassadors has been scheduled for today at 4:30pm in restricted format (just ambassadors, no phones) to discuss EU-US trade relations following the newly announced tariffs, per a Cypriot presidency source

On today’s Playbook: An early ECB vacancy could collide with the broader EU re-appointment calendar... and that’s where the fun begins. Brussels may drift into deal-making mode… though whether leaders really want to reopen that Pandora’s box is another matter

Potential institutional conflict in sight with António Costa being downgraded to President of the EU Council in the Commissioners' calendar 😱

The stock of free condoms (10,000) for fewer than 3,000 athletes ran out in just three days. (I wonder how long the same supply would last in the EU bubble) www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/f...

You’ve got to give it to Costa: This might've been the nerdiest post-summit presser ever, an orgy of EU jargon. The peak was probably von der Leyen arguing the EU needs fewer directives, more regulations, and far fewer delegated acts—while also floating "enhanced cooperation"

Brutal moment for EU jargon nerds: Nobody knows what "MFF" is, European Council president António Costa let it slip at the press conference following the EU leaders' retreat in Alden Biesen (and after momentarily forgetting the correct acronym himself)

"I'm freezing..." Italy's PM Giorgia Meloni discovers new parts of Belgium at the informal EU leaders' retreat in Alden-Biesen

Alden Biesen is not the easiest location logistically for an informal EU summit but it fits a pattern: when facing existential moments (from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to Brexit and 9/11), EU leaders seem drawn to castles to ponder the continent's fate www.politico.eu/article/info...

Imagine how complicated American football must be when even after a full political rant about a singer using Spanish, Trump still couldn’t resist complaining about how stupid one rule is. Like… sorry, I just can’t unsee it

Men’s ski jumping hits crunch time (shall I say crotch time?) and I can’t stop thinking about the poetry of this 'penis injection' thing which is not doping, just pure aerodynamics: 3 cm here become 5 to 6 extra meters down there by landing. Nothing lost, everything transformed

An extraordinary 'power play' (yes, that’s the actual name of the move) by Italy’s Stefania Constantini has been crucial to seal a 7–6 win over the U.S. in mixed doubles curling. Even more extraordinary given minister Salvini was in the stands—famously a walking jinx for Italian athletes

Don't feed 'el loco' new ideas, Benito

It's the same all over the world: Indian farmers' leaders called India-U.S. trade deal a “total surrender” to American agricultural multinational corporations, demanding Trade Minister’s immediate resignation www.thehindu.com/news/nationa...

“Injecting hyaluronic acid in your dong” deserves to be an EPSO AD5 test option for male candidates under the question: How far would you go to become a lifelong eurocrat?

It’s always kind of sad when the cruelty of having drawn the shortest straw is so plainly on display

Greenland effect on Eurobarometer? Asked if they would feel more worried if their country were not an EU member, Danes tops the list (76%). Views of the US are bleak too: 91% of Danish respondents say things are going wrong there, versus just 4% who think they’re going right

Today’s Brussels Playbook must-read is Enrico Letta's take: the run-up to the 12 Feb EU leaders' retreat is crucial. The goal is still to make 2028 Europe’s new 1992 (a Maastricht-style ambition then) by finally completing the Single Market

The EU's anti-coercion instrument for dummies

#EUInstitutions - #Commission therapy session: #VonderLeyen tries to stamp out tensions in her top team, by @gerardofortuna.bsky.social | Politico www.politico.eu/article/comm...

Just a meeting, or inter-institutional accusations in disguise? (Just in case, I know Commissioners’ work is often under investigation, but that’s not a very nice thing to say about OLAF)

Latest on EU and Epstein files: the Commission says it's not proactively checking if former or current EU officials appear in the files, nor can it exclude it. “These are millions of pages,” a spokesperson said, "we're also still discovering, as you are, what's being disclosed"

Still no deal on the €90bn loan to finance Ukraine, a Cypriot EU presidency spokesperson says. “Work will continue on a compromise text,” to be circulated among EU ambassadors “in the coming days.” Reminder: time is running out as Ukraine runs out of money from the end of March

Using the well-reputed (and so far accurate) Weyand snapshot barometer, the EU–India deal could be classified as a good one

For India's Republic Day Parade, Von der Leyen wore a sherwani (a coat-style garment quite popular for visiting international dignitaries). Not exactly sober with rich gold floral brocade, but the final look is stylish with the 'fusion' pairing with light-colored Western trousers

Literally every headline quoting this man takes on a whole new flavor the moment they use that sunglasses pic

In today’s Brussels Playbook: the 'enlargement' element of the EU–U.S. $800 billion “prosperity” framework for Ukraine—that @politico.eu scooped last Friday—is raising eyebrows in some member states 🧵👇 (1/6)

The “Macron glasses effect” is real: Maison Henry Jullien says the Pacific glasses worn by the French President in Davos and at EUCO triggered such “exceptional” traffic that it had to create a temporary purchase page. State coolness, now officially a technical issue

LIVE from EUCO: that's an actual Nobel Peace Prize

One thing to watch at EUCO: Will anyone (ahem, Friedrich Merz) raise the EU–Mercosur deal stalemate? And if so, will von der Leyen find herself in the hot seat for underestimating a relatively minor parliamentary vote that has now complicated the process of getting the deal over the line?

Context:

LIVE from EUCO: Danish PM Mette Frederiksen is open to working with the Americans, as long as it’s in the framework of the 1951 defense agreement (that allows American military bases in Greenland), @jakobweizman.bsky.social reports for @politico.eu liveblog

LIVE from European Council: He's wearing them 😎

Even after Trump’s Greenland tariff threat reversal, tonight’s informal European Council meeting is still taking place. So, what's on the agenda now? In Brussels Playbook, @gerardofortuna.bsky.social takes a look 👇 More on what to expect tonight: www.politico.eu/newsletter/b...

TL;DR of Trump’s very long, still-going speech: he wants Greenland—but says, “I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.” Then adds: “You can say yes and we’ll be very appreciative. You can say no and we will remember.” Also: big fan of Macron’s sunglasses (I guess)

I haven't quite got which "piece of ice" Trump wants, is it Greenland or actual Iceland?

This is for the EU journos: How it looks before tables made their appearance

Everything under heaven is utter chaos; the situation is excellent

Macron will be at the EU summit, I'm hearing in Brussels. "Everything else is just speculation based on ideas texted in a private messages." The French President has also an additional burden as his government holds the G7 presidency (hence the need to explore every option)

Not sure how other EU leaders will react privately to Macron's move to invite Trump to a dinner in Paris while he has "plans" for that evening (an extraordinary EU summit in Brussels)

The end of (e)motions: An almost empty plenary for the no-confidence debate against von der Leyen’s Commission (striking, given how lively it was just months ago). Not even Jordan Bardella, who led the charge, showed up. Our @maxgriera.bsky.social was there though 👇 www.politico.eu/article/von-...

👀 Second member of Iceland’s government visiting Brussels in less than a week (last Wednesday, it was the country's PM Kristrún Frostadóttir being received by Ursula von der Leyen) Notable uptick since the Greenland issue surfaced, this time meeting the EU's Enlargement Commissioner... 👀👀👀

There'll be an extraordinary College of Commissioners meeting after the extraordinary EUCO, POLITICO's Seb Starcevic scooped. It'll be focused on U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to annex Greenland, one of the EU officials said