The European Commission’s plan to get tougher on vaccine exports, a lockdown mea culpa from Angela Merkel, and corona corruption scandals in her camp are all on the agenda this week. And we ask what Europe can do to ease suffering in Syria, 10 years after the conflict there began.
POLITICO’s Andrew Gray, Rym Momtaz, Matthew Karnitschnig and Jakob Hanke Vela break down the Commission plan to give the EU more powers to stop vaccine exports — and point out a loophole that means even seized jabs may not end up in European arms. Matt brings us up to speed on spiraling mask procurement scandals and Merkel’s plea for forgiveness over a botched Easter lockdown plan.
Rym speaks to Save the Children’s Sonia Khush, country director for Syria, about the needs of children 10 years into the conflict — and what the EU and European governments can do at an upcoming conference to help.
The team also pays tribute to Stephen Brown, POLITICO Europe’s editor-in-chief, who died last week of a heart attack. As well as being a great friend, journalist and boss, Stephen was a devoted listener to the podcast. We’ll look back on his extraordinary life and career in a special edition in the coming days.
