Listen on * Spotify * Apple Music * Amazon Music Die politische Brandmauer soll die AfD auch im EU-Parlament isolieren. Eine neue Recherche enthüllt nun einen geheimen Austausch: In Chatgruppen kommunizierten Mitarbeiter von Abgeordneten der Christdemokraten (EVP) mit dem rechten Rand. Ist die Brandmauer in Brüssel und Straßburg in Wahrheit nur noch eine Fassade? Pauline und Frederik analysieren die Tragweite dieser informellen Zusammenarbeit auf Mitarbeiterebene. Alice Weidel erzielt Rekordreichweiten in den sozialen Netzwerken. Der Rückenwind kommt jedoch teils von Bot-Accounts aus dem Ausland. Ihr hört, wie die AfD die Grauzonen der Algorithmen nutzt und warum die Parteichefin bei Fragen dazu schmallippig reagiert. Der AfD-Abgeordnete Manuel Krauthausen aus Nordrhein-Westfalen sorgt mit bizarren Postings für Kopfschütteln – selbst beim eigenen Fraktionsvorstand. Auf einen antisemitischen Verschwörungsmythos zum Untergang der Titanic und die Selbstbezeichnung als „arischer Talahon“ folgt eine ungemütliche Quittung für den Nachwuchspolitiker. Die Talksendung Lanz mit Frederik Schindler und AfD-Chef Tino Chrupalla im Streitgespräch ⁠seht ihr hier in der ZDF-Mediathek⁠. „Inside AfD“ ist der POLITICO-Deutschland-Podcast über die umstrittenste Partei des Landes. Trotz Radikalisierung und Beobachtung durch den Verfassungsschutz wächst die AfD weiter. Wie ist das möglich? Was treibt ihre Anhänger, Strategen und Gegner an? Wie funktioniert das Innenleben der Partei? Und was bedeutet ihr Aufstieg für das politische System Deutschlands? Antworten liefern immer mittwochs ⁠Pauline von Pezold⁠ von POLITICO und ⁠Frederik Schindler⁠ von WELT — unaufgeregt, aber kritisch. Fragen und Feedback gern an ⁠insideafd@politico.eu⁠. POLITICO Deutschland – ein Angebot der Axel Springer Deutschland GmbH Axel-Springer-Straße 65, 10888 Berlin Tel: +49 (30) 2591 0 ⁠information@axelspringer.de⁠ Sitz: Amtsgericht Berlin-Charlottenburg, HRB 196159 B USt-IdNr: DE 214 852 390 Geschäftsführer: Carolin Hulshoff Pol, Mathias Sanchez Luna

A right-wing Swedish MEP on Tuesday said he started a WhatsApp group with members of the main conservative faction in the European Parliament that has angered German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The news agency DPA reported that staff from the center-right European People’s Party, the largest in the Parliament and home to both Merz and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, had been using group chats to coordinate with right-wing and far-right groups ahead of a vote on tightening migration rules. The EPP last year began voting with the far right in Parliament, breaking the so-called cordon sanitaire, the informal pact between Europe’s centrist forces — the EPP, the Socialists and Democrats, the liberals of Renew, and the Greens — to keep the far right out of decision-making. The EPP maintains that it is not actively negotiating with far-right parties, saying it has merely outlined its positions and hopes to secure support with broader right-wing backing. Reports on the group chat annoyed Merz, who told reporters Monday: “I want to make this very clear: We do not cooperate with the far right in the European Parliament.” He added that “the EPP group leader also knows that we do not want this cooperation.” The EPP leader in question is fellow German Manfred Weber. “This will be stopped and … there will be consequences if necessary. Manfred Weber now bears responsibility for this,” Merz added. Weber did not respond to a request for comment. He has been quoted by German media outlets as saying that he didn’t know about the group chat and had not authorized it. On Tuesday, Charlie Weimers of the Sweden Democrats, which is part of the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists group, wrote on social media: “The WhatsApp group was started by my office. As negotiator for the ECR I pushed for all groups right of centre to be included in the negotiations and shared with them the Council’s compromise texts long before the final position became public.” He added that “by working together, the ECR, Patriots for Europe, Europe of Sovereign Nations and the EPP secured a proposal that gives member states tools that would increase return rates: hubs outside the Union, extend of detention of illegals to 24 months including unlimited detention for those posing a security risk, mutual recognition of return decisions, and stricter sanctions.” The Europe of Sovereign Nations group is home to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). Last November, the center-right, right-wing and far-right groups allied to pass the EU’s first omnibus simplification package, exempting more companies from green reporting rules.

BRUSSELS — Dozens of wannabe EU translators who were forced last year to resit a grueling entry exam because a technical blunder have now been incorrectly disqualified, they said. Some of the nearly 10,000 would-be Eurocrats who did the online test last year and who had to repeat the exercise a few months later because of a “set-up defect” were told they were being disregarded because they hadn’t completed all the exams. They say this was an error and that they’ve done everything that was requested. “I did sit all of them! So I do not understand! How can they be so careless? What do we do?” wrote one applicant on a Facebook group for candidates. Messages in this group and a separate private Whatsapp chat suggest dozens of people are affected. POLITICO has chosen not to name the people who wrote messages because the Facebook group is private. The tests are run by the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO), an interinstitutional body that organizes recruitment for institutions including the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. The exams are a gateway to a career in the EU civil service. “I regret to inform you that your participation [in the process] has come to an end, since you failed to sit at least one of the tests scheduled for the competition,” according to letters sent to two candidates POLITICO spoke to, and screenshotted by several others on the Facebook group for linguist candidates. There are scores of messages from candidates online who received that message and say they did take part in all of the required exams. Some of those candidates say they contacted TestWe, the platform that runs the online tests, which confirmed to them they had completed all of their tests. “This is just SOOOO ridiculous,” wrote another person on Facebook, who said she had also been falsely identified as not completing all of the tests.  Two candidates who were affected told POLITICO they are aware of dozens of people who received the email. “I was already very annoyed when I had to resit the test,” said one candidate who sat the Spanish-language competition last year and asked to remain anonymous. “Now we see all these errors, all these inconsistencies. I have proof of all the exams I sat. I just don’t think it’s fair.” The translator tests include exams on language knowledge and verbal and numerical reasoning. | Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images “We had to wait 1 year for this crap,” one frustrated person with an anonymous username wrote on the Facebook group. Another candidate who took part in the Greek language competition, and who asked not to be named because they are considering taking legal action, said: “I took it for granted that this was just a mix up with the emails they sent. But it’s been more than a week now and we don’t have any news.” POLITICO contacted the European Commission about the issue but did not immediately receive a reply to a request for comment. ‘NOW OR NEVER’ The translator tests include exams on language knowledge and verbal and numerical reasoning. Successfully passing those tests and getting onto the EPSO reserve list allows people to apply for specific open positions within the institutions.  The competitions to get on the reserve list only take place once every several years. “You feel that if you lose this chance, most probably, with all the transformations in the industry like AI, it’s now or never for many of the candidates,” said the Greek-language candidate. To complicate things further, the reserve lists featuring the successful candidates for some languages — Dutch, Maltese and Danish — of the most recent competitions have already been published, leading candidates to worry that those people have an advantage for jobs. “The ones who did not have this issue will actually engage in the recruitment process and might have more chances, and that could create an issue as well,” the Greek candidate added. “How is it so difficult to arrange a test?” wrote another anonymous user on the Facebook group.

Listen on * Spotify * Apple Music * Amazon Music After a weekend of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran — and the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei — Brussels is moving to coordinate its diplomatic response. EU ambassadors convened, foreign ministers met online and Ursula von der Leyen called the Defense College. But as tensions escalate across the region, is Europe shaping events — or reacting to them? Zoya Sheftalovich and Nick Vinocur unpack the EU’s balancing act: condemning Iran’s retaliation, avoiding direct criticism of Washington and trying to remain strategically relevant in a crisis unfolding beyond its borders. Plus: Emmanuel Macron unveils his vision for Europe’s nuclear future from France’s submarine base — and in Brussels, a debate over whether 250,000 EU citizens living in the Belgian capital should get the right to vote in regional elections. You can reach us on our WhatsApp at: +32 491 05 06 29. **A message for Amazon: Today's episode is presented by Amazon. Sixty percent of sales on Amazon come from independent sellers. Across Europe, over two hundred and eighty thousand Small and Medium Enterprises partner with Amazon to grow their business. Learn more at Aboutamazon.eu. **

After more than a decade of dominating Hungary’s politics, Viktor Orbán is being outflanked on nationalism. As the country heads toward an April election, conservative opposition leader Péter Magyar has emerged as the prime minister’s most serious challenger yet by weaponizing Orbán’s nationalist rhetoric and Euroskepticism — and using it to attack his record. The approach has helped propel Magyar in the polls, but it has also dimmed hopes in Brussels that he would represent a clean pro-EU break from Orbán’s confrontational style. Magyar’s aim, his allies say, is to get voters asking what Orbán’s nationalist rhetoric has actually delivered. “It’s not that we turned his nationalist language against him,” said Márton Hajdu, the Tisza party’s chief of staff in the European Parliament. “We turn his lies about protecting Hungarian national interests against him.”  OUTFLANKING ORBÁN Magyar — a former insider in Orbán’s nationalist Fidesz party — has moved to outflank Orbán on some of the most sensitive nationalist terrain: ethnic Hungarians living beyond Hungary’s borders, and the country’s Roma minority. Fidesz has historically secured strong support among ethnic Hungarians by granting them citizenship and voting rights, enshrining their protection in the constitution, and funding Hungarian-language schools and media outlets that promote the ruling party’s narrative outside Hungary. But recent missteps by Orbán have given Magyar an opening. One flashpoint came late last year after Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico pushed through legislation penalizing public criticism of the postwar Beneš decrees, a set of World War II–era laws that stripped ethnic Hungarians and Germans in former Czechoslovakia of citizenship and property.  While Orbán — who has allied with Fico when dealing with Brussels — responded cautiously, Magyar publicly called on Bratislava to withdraw the measure and accused his rival of ignoring the issue. Since then, both sides have escalated the matter. “Orbán’s initial caution reflects a strategic trade-off,” said Márton Bene, an analyst at the TK Institute for Political Science. “Orbán was reluctant to jeopardize that relationship [with Fico] over a minority issue that could provoke conflict with Bratislava.” A similar dynamic played out in Romania, where Orbán endorsed far-right presidential candidate George Simion despite his history of anti-Hungarian actions. After ethnic Hungarian voters overwhelmingly backed Simion’s rival, Magyar marched from Budapest to the Hungarian-majority city of Oradea, casting Orbán’s stance as a betrayal. Magyar has also spoken out in defense of Hungary’s Roma community after a senior Fidesz figure insulted the group, traditionally a key ruling-party constituency. “The Hungarian government has consistently stood up for the preservation of the identity of Hungarian communities living beyond its borders,” a government spokesperson said in a statement. BRUSSELS VS. BUDAPEST Magyar’s positioning seems to have helped him in the polls. His Tisza party is polling at 49 percent, according to POLITICO’s Poll of Polls, well ahead of Fidesz at 38 percent. But it has also complicated hopes in Brussels that Magyar could quickly reset relations with the EU after years of clashes with Orbán over the rule of law, migration and support for Ukraine in its war against Russia. Magyar has been clear he does not intend to present the European Union with another illiberal headache. One flashpoint came after Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico pushed through legislation penalizing public criticism of the postwar Beneš decrees. | Pool photo by Alex Brandon/AFP via Getty Images “Magyar’s strategy so far has not been to outbid Orbán in nationalism, but to expose the gap between nationalist rhetoric and governance failure,” said Rudolf Metz, a political scientist at the TK Institute in Budapest. “From a Brussels perspective, this makes him a less unpredictable nationalist risk and potentially a stabilizing actor.” At the same time he has been careful not to appear too close to Brussels, telling POLITICO in 2024 that he does not “believe in a European superstate.” Tisza is “a fully pro-Hungarian party,” said Hajdu. It will represent Hungarian interests “inside the EU, and not outside and not against it.” The balancing act is also reflected in Tisza’s stated policy positions. Zoltán Tarr, a party MEP, told POLITICO the party wants to “keep [the] border fence, oppose mandatory migration quotas and accelerated Ukraine accession, pursue peace, fight Russian propaganda, strengthen V4 [Hungary, Poland, Czechia and Slovakia] and Central Europe without being Europe’s bad boy.” Still, Magyar’s positioning has sometimes put him at odds with Brussels. At home, Magyar has focused heavily on cost-of-living pressures, distributing firewood in rural areas during extreme cold spells and pushing housing support programs. But he has also cast himself as a defender of Hungarian farmers by opposing the Mercosur trade agreement championed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and joining farmers’ protests in Strasbourg where he accused Fidesz of having “left them behind.” On Ukraine Magyar has struck a cautious tone, recognizing Russia as the aggressor but — like Orbán — ruling out troops or weapons deliveries. A similar dynamic played out in Romania, where Orbán endorsed far-right presidential candidate George Simion despite his history of anti-Hungarian actions. | Andrei Pungovschi/Getty Images Magyar’s biggest clash with the establishment has been in the European Parliament, where Tisza’s seven representatives were sanctioned by their pan-European umbrella group, the center-right European People’s Party, after they failed to show up to vote for von der Leyen in a confidence vote in January. They have been barred by the group from speaking at plenary sessions or holding rapporteur roles for the next six months. “Tisza MEPs take note of the decision,” said Magyar in a post on Facebook. “At the same time, we are thankful for the confirmation from Brussels that Tisza politicians have no owners.” Orbán was quick to pounce, accusing Tisza of hypocrisy for not having defied the EPP more fully by voting against the Commission president. “Empty seats, empty promises. Hungary’s fate was at stake, and the Tisza Party did not even bother to go in to vote. For them Brussels comes first,” Orbán said.

The EU’s elite recruitment competition opens Thursday for the first time in seven years. But would you pass it? The assessment is meant to inject new blood into Brussels’ corridors of power, with successful applicants eligible for roles at grade “AD-5,” which come with a monthly pay packet of between €5,973 and €6,758, as well as the chance to progress through the bureaucracy and take up influential roles. Tens of thousands of people are expected to take the exam. So take our version of the test and find out if you’d make the grade. Some are based on actual questions and some we’ve made up. *Disclaimer 1. The actual tests contain verbal/numerical/abstract reasoning skills questions (can you solve problems using words/numbers/diagrams); and digital skills questions (do you know anything about tech). We’ve skipped these in favor of the third part, EU knowledge. *Disclaimer 2. Passing this test does not mean you get an EU job (or a job at POLITICO).

Get set for this year’s most consequential election in the EU. Hungary’s campaign stepped up a gear this week, with populist nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán facing the toughest challenge yet to his 15-year grip on power. The long-suffering opposition hopes that Péter Magyar — conservative leader of the opposition Tisza party, which is running 12 points ahead in the polls — can overturn what Orbán himself styles as Hungary’s “illiberal democracy.” For many Hungarians, the election is a referendum on Orbán’s model. Under his leadership the government, led by Orbán’s Fidesz party, has tightened its grip on the media and state companies — sparking accusations of cronyism — while weakening judicial independence and passing legislation that sent Hungary plunging down transparency rankings. It now sits at the bottom of the World Justice Project’s rule-of-law index for EU countries. The 62-year-old Orbán is the EU leader closest to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and proves a continual obstacle to efforts by Brussels to build a united front against the Kremlin. He has repeatedly clashed with the EU on topics ranging from LGBTQ+ rights to migration. Predicting the end of the liberal multilateral order, Orbán kicked off the year by saying the EU would “fall apart on its own.” But can Magyar — whose surname literally means “Hungarian” — really topple his former ally? And even if he does, how far could he realistically guide Hungary back toward liberal democracy with Orbán’s state architecture still in place? POLITICO breaks down the five key questions as Hungary heads toward the seismic April 12 vote. 1. WHY SHOULD I CARE? Hungary may be relatively small, with a population of 9.6 million, but under Orbán’s leadership it has become one of the EU’s biggest headaches. He has long weaponized Budapest’s veto in Brussels to block Russia-related sanctions, tie up financial aid to Ukraine and repeatedly stall urgent EU decisions. He is also a key — and sometimes leading — member of a group of right-wing populists in EU capitals, who unite on topics such as opposition to migration and skepticism toward arming Ukraine. Without Orbán, Czechia’s Andrej Babiš and Slovakia’s Robert Fico would cut far more isolated figures at summits of the European Council. Brussels has often resorted to elaborate workarounds to bypass Hungary’s obstructionism, and Orbán’s persistent defiance has led to calls to ditch the unanimity rule that has been in place for decades. “You have heard me 20 times regret, if not more, the attitude of Viktor Orbán, who, every time we had to move forward to help Ukraine … has used his veto to do more blackmail,” EU liberal party chief Valérie Hayer told journalists Tuesday. 2. WHAT ARE THE MAIN BATTLEGROUNDS? Magyar accuses Orbán and Fidesz of nepotism and corruption — of weakening the country’s economy by favoring oligarchs — and of missing out on EU funds by antagonizing Brussels. Orbán wants to frame his arch-nemesis Magyar as a puppet controlled by Brussels. Hungary’s campaign stepped up a gear this week, with populist nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán facing the toughest challenge yet to his 15-year grip on power. | Zoltán Fischer/Hungarian PM Communication/EPA In the past year, Fidesz has launched public debates aiming to divide Magyar’s base — which spans green and left-wing voters to disenchanted former Orbán loyalists — on subjects such as the LGBTQ+ Pride ban. Tisza’s strategy has been to avoid positioning itself on controversial issues, in an effort to garner an absolute majority that will grant the party power to reform electoral law, which they say Orbán rigged to his benefit, and enable constitutional changes. Tisza’s No. 2, Zoltán Tarr, told POLITICO he expected Orbán’s government to deploy “all possible dirty tricks.” “State propaganda smears, AI-generated fakes, doctored videos, potential staged incidents, blackmail, and exploiting the rigged electoral system. They will mobilize everything because they have so much to lose,” Tarr said. Speaking at Fidesz’s party congress on Saturday, Orbán lambasted Tisza as a pro-EU stooge. “If you vote for Tisza or DK [the social-democratic Democratic Coalition], you are voting against your own future. Tisza and DK will carry out Brussels’ demands without batting an eyelid. Do not forget that Tisza’s boss is Herr Weber, Europe’s biggest warmonger,” Orbán said, referring to the German chief of the European People’s Party, Manfred Weber. 3. HOW AND WHEN DOES THE ELECTION TAKE PLACE? The national elections will take place on Sunday, April 12. Voters will choose a new 199-seat National Assembly under Hungary’s mixed electoral system, with 106 MPs elected in single-member constituencies and 93 from national party lists. The long-suffering opposition hopes that Péter Magyar — conservative leader of the Tisza party — can overturn what Orbán himself styles as Hungary’s “illiberal democracy.” | Noémi Bruzák/EPA POLITICO’s Poll of Polls shows Tisza leading with 49 percent support ahead of Fidesz at 37 percent — with Orbán’s party having been trailing for almost a year now. Although the official campaign period begins Feb. 21, the race has effectively been in full swing for months. Other notable parties in the race are the Democratic Coalition (DK); the far-right Mi Hazánk (Our Homeland) movement; and the satirical Hungarian Two-Tailed Dog Party (MKKP), largely created to mock Orbán’s policies. But these are fighting for survival as they may not meet the threshold of support for winning seats in parliament — meaning the Hungarian legislature could be exclusively controlled by two right-wing parties.  4. CAN THE ELECTION BE FREE AND FAIR? Challengers to the ruling party face a system designed to favor Fidesz. In 2011 Orbán’s government redrew electoral districts and overhauled the voting system to maximize its chances of winning seats. “There is no direct interference with the act of voting itself, yet the broader competitive environment — both in terms of institutional rules and access to resources — tilts heavily in favor of the governing parties,” said political analyst Márton Bene at the TK Institute of Political Science in Budapest. In addition to controlling roughly 80 percent of the media market, the government allows ethnic Hungarians in neighboring countries (who tend to favor Fidesz) to vote by mail, whereas those living abroad who have kept their Hungarian addresses must travel to embassies to cast their ballots. “One side enjoys access to the full resources of the state, while the challenger receives no public campaign funding and has virtually no presence in state-controlled media,” said political scientist Rudolf Metz from the TK Institute, adding that this imbalance is partially offset in the digital sphere. But even the unfair conditions don’t preclude a Magyar victory, Bene says, as long as the integrity of the voting process is preserved. 5. HOW MUCH WOULD A MAGYAR WIN REALLY CHANGE? The Brussels establishment is praying for Magyar to win, hoping a Tisza government will deepen ties with the EU. Centrist chief Hayer said her party supported “any candidate who will carry pro-European values, who will be able to beat” the incumbent Hungarian prime minister. Conservative boss Weber quickly welcomed Tisza into the center-right family to secure influence in Budapest and to give them resources to develop their electoral platform. He has repeatedly framed Magyar as the man who will save Hungary from Orbán. While viewed as a potential bridge-builder for the strained Brussels-Budapest relationship, Magyar is by no means an unwavering EU cheerleader. He has been noncommittal about Brussels, considering that any rapprochement could be used by Orbán against him. In an interview with POLITICO in October 2024 he said “we certainly don’t believe in a European superstate.” Conservative boss Manfred Weber quickly welcomed Tisza into the center-right family to secure influence in Budapest and give them resources to develop their electoral platform. Filip Singer/EPA On the domestic front, Tarr — Tisza’s No. 2 — told POLITICO the party wants to “keep [the] border fence, oppose mandatory migration quotas and accelerated Ukraine accession, pursue peace, fight Russian propaganda, strengthen V4 [Hungary, Poland, Czechia and Slovakia] and Central Europe without being Europe’s bad boy.” That echoes the prognosis of political scientist Metz, who said a victory by Magyar “would not mean a radical U-turn or a return to some idealized past.” “Hungary’s role as the EU’s permanent disruptor would probably fade, not because national interests disappear, but because they would be pursued through negotiation and institutional engagement rather than constant veto politics and symbolic conflict,” Metz added. Analysts also cautioned that change at home could be slow. Zoltán Vasali of Milton Friedman University said dismantling the current system would be “legally and institutionally challenging.” “Core constitutional bodies will retain their mandates beyond the upcoming elections, and key positions remain held by individuals aligned with the current government, limiting near-term change,” Vasali said. The scale of a Magyar victory could be decisive. A two-thirds parliamentary supermajority, which would allow the new government to change the constitution, Metz said, would be “a game-changer.” “It would give a Magyar government the legal capacity to restore core elements of the rule of law, rebuild checks and balances, and introduce safeguards such as term limits for key offices,” he said. Kinga Gál, Fidesz’s leader in the European Parliament, did not reply to a request for comment by the time of publication.

Iranian diplomats are to be banned from entering the European Parliament in response to the Tehran regime’s brutal crackdown on protesters who are demanding an end to half a century of religious dictatorship.  European Parliament President Roberta Metsola announced the move in a letter to MEPs on Monday. The ban will apply to the Parliament’s premises in Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg. “Those braving the streets, those political prisoners still detained, need more than just solidarity,” Metsola said. “I have taken the decision to ban all diplomats, staff of diplomatic missions, government officials and representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran from entering any premises of the European Parliament.” This story is being updated 

Hundreds of EU officials’ children face upheaval and uncertainty as a major campus of the European School system in Brussels prepares to move pupils to a temporary location due to chronic overcrowding and repeated delays to the construction of a new school. Created in 1953 to educate the children of European officials, the European School system is facing severe overcrowding. The four Brussels campuses serve more than 14,600 pupils. The European School Brussels II in Woluwe — built for 2,500 children in 1974 — now hosts almost 4,000. To solve this, the Woluwe school, also called EEB2, plans to temporarily relocate all its nursery and primary school students to a newer site in Evere, near NATO headquarters, in 2026 until the Belgian authorities build a long-promised fifth campus in Neder-Over-Heembeek, on the northern outskirts of Brussels. But the construction of the new campus, first announced a decade ago, has been repeatedly delayed, with no clear assurances from the Belgian government on when or even if it will be built. To make matters worse, the permit for the interim campus in Evere expires in 2027. “Parents are very worried because we just see empty promises,” said the mother of a secondary pupil in Woluwe. POLITICO spoke to seven parents, all members of the Woluwe parents’ association APEEE. They were granted anonymity to speak freely, as several expressed concerns that publicly identifying themselves could invite negative repercussions from school authorities. CHRONIC OVERCROWDING MEETS DELAYED EXPANSION The European Schools network, funded mainly by the European Commission, was created to educate children of officials working for European institutions — free of charge — leading to the European Baccalaureate, a diploma granting university access across all EU member countries and several other nations. There are 13 schools spread across the EU. Students attend classes in their mother tongue, so they can easily reintegrate into their national school systems if needed. Brussels’ role as the EU capital drew many Eurocrats with young families. But campus capacity struggled to keep pace. “We have daily health, safety and well-being risks due to overcrowding,” Secretary-General of the European Schools Andreas Beckmann, who is the schools’ senior executive, said. To ease the overcrowding, the organization opened a new campus in Evere in 2021, initially conceived as the site for a future fifth school. After that project was reassigned to Neder-Over-Heembeek, Evere became a temporary base for some kindergarten and primary school kids from the Woluwe school. Meanwhile, the new fifth campus, originally due to be completed by 2028, has been pushed to 2030 and, even then, there’s no guarantee it will be built. The responsibility for building the new school rests with the Régie des Bâtiments, Belgium’s public buildings authority. Its spokesperson, Sylvie Decraecker, said in an email that it cannot proceed without funding from the federal government, which governs how Belgium finances infrastructure for international institutions it hosts.  The Evere campus is near NATO’s former headquarters, and the area retains security infrastructure. A mother of two pupils, who works at the Commission, said: “It’s a bit scary, especially given the current geopolitical climate.” | iStock Two letters seen by POLITICO — from former Prime Minister Alexander De Croo to former European Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn in June 2024, and from Belgian Ambassador to NATO François de Kerchove to the schools’ Secretary-General Beckmann in February 2025 — acknowledge parents’ worries and reaffirm Belgium’s “well-established tradition” of supporting the European Schools, but offer no guarantees of a fifth school. Parents had raised their concerns with Hahn and Beckmann, who in turn wrote to De Croo and de Kerchove. “If we do not plan now, this is a disaster in the making for later,” said Pim Gesquiere, president of the Woluwe APEEE. A CAMPUS ON BORROWED TIME Adding to parents’ unease, the Evere campus’ permit expires in March 2027. Urban planning documents show a new road cutting through the school grounds as part of the PAD Défense redevelopment plan, a master plan for infrastructure and security upgrades near NATO headquarters. However, Decraecker said that a request to extend the permit until 2037 is expected to receive final approval by the end of 2026. “This extension would require adapting the playground at the rear of the site in order to allow, when the time comes, for the creation of a new roadway serving the future neighborhood,” she said. “Regarding the modification of road infrastructure, the school’s management has been informed of this prospect. Although this is not ideal for day-to-day operations, the management appears willing to accept this constraint,” she added. It’s not a new predicament for the European Schools. In Frankfurt, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde recently called it “embarrassing” that local authorities still hadn’t found space for a new European School to ease overcrowding. “We can’t move from container to container to potato field,” she said. Beckmann and EEB2 Director Kamila Malik acknowledged the structural problems, but defended the anticipated move as a short-term necessity to ease overcrowding and ensure safety. They said they hope using Evere to its full capacity will pressure Belgium to finally start building the fifth school. OF BARRACKS, SECURITY CHECKS AND BAD AIR The Evere campus is located near NATO’s former headquarters, which was repurposed in 2020 to host Belgium’s largest terrorism trials following the attacks at Zaventem Airport and Brussels’ Maelbeek metro station in March 2016. The area retains much of its security infrastructure: fenced perimeters, surveillance systems and limited green space, with traffic regularly slowed by security checks around NATO’s current headquarters, located just across the street. Parents argued these conditions make the site unsuitable for young children. “This is not where children should grow up, this is not a school,” said the mother of two kids who will be affected by the move. Some parents are even considering working part-time or returning to their home countries because of the move. “We moved here because of my job, but I don’t want my kids to grow up in a site surrounded by barbed wire and in barracks,” said the mother of one primary pupil. The campus’ high-profile neighbor is not welcome, either. “You’re in the middle of NATO’s defense area. It’s a bit scary, especially given the current geopolitical climate,” said a mother of two students, who currently works at the European Commission. “Inside the Commission, we get all sorts of briefings about drones and defense threats. It’s not unreasonable to think it could be a target.” It’s not just the surroundings that are less than ideal. A 2024 Brussels SIRANE air-quality study also found the Evere campus had the worst air quality of any primary school location in the region. EEB2 Director Malik countered that the school did its own testing and the results were “very, very good” and “much better than in central Brussels.” POLITICO was denied access to the full report. Families are also struggling with logistics, with children split between Evere and Woluwe — it would take about 15 minutes by bicycle or 40 minutes by public transport to get from one to the other. Parents noted that most of them are expatriates who moved for EU jobs, leaving family support networks behind. “You are dependent on having all your kids in one location, on the bus service, on the garderie [daycare] … it is not helpful when your kids are being moved,” said one parent. STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS PERSIST From the outside, the European Schools seem like a privileged enclave. But the system is stretched to its limits. The schools’ complex governance structure, split between the EU and national bodies, means “everyone decides, and no one decides … everyone will always find someone else to blame,” said the mother of a student in primary and one in secondary. They also complained that decisions are made behind closed doors and without proper consultations with parents. Beckmann rejected the accusations of not sticking to promises, explaining that the relocation clause had always been subject to review in 2024 and that decisions were made collectively. Meanwhile, a Human Rights Watch (HRW) study conducted in five European Schools between September and November 2018 found that children with disabilities were often not provided with adequate accommodation to allow them to learn in an inclusive environment. The report did not specify which schools were reviewed. Teachers have also raised concerns over employment conditions at the European Schools. Between February and March this year, staff in Brussels staged several strikes to demand equal rights for locally recruited teachers, who face precarious contracts, lack job stability and have no union representation. To address job-security concerns, Beckmann said that the Board of Governors decided to provide staff that have worked in the system for more than eight years with permanent contracts. Regarding the salary concerns, he said the system is also looking into it, but argued that the European Schools in Belgium already offer “more than competitive” salaries compared with national schools. But for many Brussels parents, it may not be enough. “The whole history of overcrowding in the European Schools is about inadequate planning,” said Gesquiere. “And the children are the ones caught in the middle.”

BRUSSELS — Donald Trump should not get involved in European democracy, Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday, days after the U.S. president launched a stinging attack on Europe. “It is not on us, when it comes to elections, to decide who the leader of the country will be, but on the people of this country … That’s the sovereignty of the voters, and this must be protected,” the European Commission president said in an interview at the POLITICO 28 gala event in Brussels. “Nobody else is supposed to interfere, without any question,” the Commission chief added in response to a question about the U.S. National Security Strategy, which was published last week and caused uproar in Europe. The strategy claims Europe is facing “civilizational erasure” within the next 20 years, a narrative that has resonated well with Europe’s far-right leaders, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, as well as in Russia. The document also bashes European efforts to rein in far-right parties, calling such moves political censorship, and speaks of “cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations.” Von der Leyen said this is one of the reasons why the EU proposed the Democracy Shield, meant to step up the fight against foreign interference online, including in elections. The Commission chief said she has always had “a very good working relationship” with U.S. presidents, and ” this is also the case today.” However, she stressed that Europe should focus on itself rather than making comparisons with others. “From the bottom of my heart, I’m a convinced transatlanticist. But what is so important? [What’s] important is that … we take pride in being the European Union, that we look at our strength and that we deal with the challenges that we do have,” she said. “Ofa course, our relationship to the United States has changed. Why? Because we are changing. And this is so important that we keep in mind: what is our position? What is our strength? Let’s work on these. Let’s take pride in that. Let’s stand up for a unified Europe. This is our task … [to] look at ourselves and be proud of ourselves,” von der Leyen said, to applause from the crowd. The U.S. president denounced Europe as a “decaying” group of nations led by “weak” people in an interview with POLITICO’s Dasha Burns that aired Tuesday in a special episode of The Conversation podcast. “I think they’re weak,” Trump said, referring to the continent’s presidents and prime ministers, adding, “I think they don’t know what to do. Europe doesn’t know what to do.”  POLITICO on Thursday named Trump the most powerful person shaping European politics, placing him at the top of the annual P28 list. The list highlights who is expected to have the most sway over Europe’s political direction in the coming year, based on input from POLITICO’s newsroom and the power players POLITICO’s journalists speak with.