We explore the rapidly rising tensions between China and Europe and ask where the relationship between the two sides is heading. And we reach for the stars as we hear from two European astronauts — and get the lowdown on the search for the next generation of European space explorers.
POLITICO’s Andrew Gray, Rym Momtaz, Matthew Karnitschnig and Stuart Lau get you up to speed on recent rows between China and the European Union — alongside the United States and others — after the EU imposed sanctions on Chinese officials accused of running internment camps for hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs in the region of Xinjiang. Beijing hit back hard, with sanctions of its own on high-level EU officials, members of the European Parliament and others. Is Europe set to team up with the United States in taking a harder line against China? And what will be the consequences if it does?
Then we boldly go where EU Confidential has never gone before: into space, through conversations with European astronauts Thomas Pesquet and Samantha Cristoforetti. They give POLITICO’s Joshua Posaner a flavor of what life is like in the International Space Station and how they’re preparing for upcoming missions. We also shed light on Europe’s capabilities in space and reveal what the European Space Agency sees as the right stuff in its search for new astronauts.
