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

<p>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.</p><p>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, <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-joe-biden-angela-merkel-us-germany-transatlantic-relationship/">Trump, Biden and the ‘f****** Germans’</a>, 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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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 href="https://www.netflix.com/be-en/title/81022994">a German unsolved mystery</a> on Netflix. Rym is in election mode, recommending <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Divide-Conquer-Story-Roger-Ailes/dp/B07L37FCGP">a documentary</a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/The-Loudest-Voice-Season-1/dp/B07YYR527G">a related mini-series</a> on Fox News and its controversial chief (both available on Amazon prime). And Andrew comes through with <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000gkwl">a BBC Sounds podcast about the Vietnam war</a>, with an unconventional but compelling storytelling format.<