Brussels2Berlin

Dave Keating, a journalist based in Brussels, and Tyson Barker, a policy analyst based in Berlin, talk about the three big stories hitting the headlines in Europe this month: -Trump's trade war with the European Union -A new German government in Berlin -Chaos in Rome following an inconclusive Italian election

Dave Keating in Brussels and Tyson Barker in Berlin talk about the latest developments in Brexit negotiations, and German coalition negotiations. The last week saw significant movement for both. Is it smooth sailing ahead, or will more roadblocks present themselves?

Dave Keating and Tyson Barker take a look back at 2017 and the developments in the EU-US military relationship. What does the launch of PESCO, the new EU military defense cooperation that does not have American involvement, mean for the future of NATO? Is it the beginning of the end for the American military protectorate over Europe. In the second half of the podcast, we tell you what to watch for in 2018: elections in Russia and Italy, awaiting a German government, wrangling over Catalan independence, and the finale of the 2014-19 EU legislative term.

Jens Spahn, a rising star in Angela Merkel's CDU party, has caused a stir by writing an editorial blasting Germans in Berlin for speaking English with foreigners - and even amongst each other. Calling them "elitist hipsters", he said the use of English across Europe is actually turning into a tool for exclusion, refusing to help foreigners from integrating by helping them to learn the local language. Is he right? Dave Keating and Tyson Barker join special guest Jon Worth, another anglophone expat living in Berlin, to discuss what this is really all about. It has a lot more to do with the changing nature of German politics, animosity between Berliners and the rest of Germany, and the strange beast that the hauptstadt has developed into.