Ursula von der Leyen made a promise this week: if she secures another term as president of the European Commission, she will prioritize beefing up the EU's defenses against malicious disinformation from Moscow.

It's a top-of-agenda issue for many in Brussels and across the bloc, with less than a month until the European election and hostile actors using sophisticated tools such as generative AI.

In this episode, host Sarah Wheaton and her guests unpack some of the latest examples of interference from the Kremlin, such as sharing AI-generated deepfake videos of politicians or cloning the voices of public figures to impersonate them. Sarah is joined by Mark Scott, POLITICO's chief technology correspondent, and Jakub Kalensky, deputy director of the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats in Helsinki. They also discuss what's behind Europe's modest successes in countering Russian disinformation campaigns.

Further reading:

Moldova fights to free itself from Russia’s AI-powered disinformation machine by Mark Scott

Deepfakes, distrust and disinformation: Welcome to the AI election by Mark Scott

Spot the deepfake: The AI tools undermining our own eyes and ears by Mark Scott

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As recent national elections in several European countries have shown, far-right voters no longer fit the stereotype of the angry, old white man, but now often include women, young people and even migrants.

In this episode we unpack what drives voters to abandon the mainstream and more traditional party loyalties for the far right, and how poverty, or fear of it, motivates typical supporters of the AfD in Germany, Geert Wilder's PVV in the Netherlands, or Chega in Portugal.

Host Sarah Wheaton is joined by POLITICO reporters Hanne Cokelaere, James Angelos and Aitor Hernandez-Morales, who were recently dispatched to countries where far-right parties are gaining ground ahead of June's European election.

Later on we have a fascinating conversation with Catherine de Vries, professor of political science and dean of international affairs at Bocconi University in Milan. Her research focuses on how economic hardship and problems with public services such as schools, health care or transport can fuel the far right.

Further reading:

Germany’s far-right believers blame spy claims on ‘witch hunt’ by James Angelos

Portugal’s far-right vaccine stops working in the Algarve by Victor Jack

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It was a rare chance to see all the leading candidates from Europe's main political parties go head-to-head in a presidential-style debate to become the next head of the European Commission.

With just over a month to go until the European Parliament election, eight politicians met in the Dutch city of Maastricht and spent an hour and a half answering questions on key issues such as climate change, defense and European democracy.

If you missed it, don't worry — we've picked out the key moments and some of the more heated exchanges. Host Sarah Wheaton is joined by colleagues POLITICO's editor at large Nicholas Vinocur and Barbara Moens, chief EU correspondent and co-moderator of the debate. They give us their take on who won, who lost, and how it all went down. Did anyone manage to impress a room full of university students and over a quarter of a million people watching the debate online?

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