Europe rejects Trump’s Iran demands

Summary

Brussels Playbook Podcast – Europe Rejects Trump’s Iran Demands

Date: March 17, 2026
Host: Zoya Sheftalovich (Chief EU Correspondent, POLITICO)
Guest: Nick Winicour (Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent)
Main Theme: EU political maneuvering ahead of the European Council summit, with a deep dive into Europe’s rejection of President Trump’s request for help in the Strait of Hormuz, and implications for EU foreign policy, energy, and sporting events security.

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Episode Overview

This episode goes inside the diplomatic activity in Brussels as EU ministers gear up for a crucial European Council summit. The episode’s main narrative is Europe’s unified refusal to back U.S. President Donald Trump’s demands for military support in the Strait of Hormuz amidst the Iran war, revealing fissures in transatlantic relations and internal EU debates over security, energy, and strategic autonomy. Additional topics include Ukraine and Moldova’s EU accession bids, Montenegro’s progress, a potential shift in European Parliament voting rights, internal budget sparring, and EU concerns over World Cup fan safety.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. European Affairs Ministers Gather Ahead of Summit (00:30 – 07:10)

• Ministers are meeting to prep for the major European Council summit set for Thursday, with agenda items including:

  • Russia’s war in Ukraine
  • EU competitiveness
  • The next seven-year budget (multiannual financial framework)
  • Middle East tensions, especially Iran
  • Strategic discussions on China and energy supply
  • Host Zoya underscores how Trump’s unpredictable remarks continue to impact the EU’s timetable:

    “We had some plans for what we were going to do today and then ... we saw a Truth Social post from Donald Trump ... And now we’ve got to change everything and it’s all up in the air.” (01:57)

• Special breakfast meeting with Ukraine and Moldova features a “front-loading" of negotiating clusters – an informal way to prepare accession candidates even while Hungary’s Viktor Orban maintains a block on formal talks.

  • Zoya explains:

    “The EU cannot move forward with negotiations with either Ukraine or Moldova because Viktor Orban has said there’s no way, while he is prime minister of Hungary, that he’s going to allow these things to proceed.” (03:03)

  • The EU’s workaround: giving Ukraine and Moldova their “homework”—the reforms required for eventual accession to keep up momentum ahead of the pivotal Hungarian elections in April.

• Montenegro's Progress:

  • The EU is set to announce closure of its 14th negotiating chapter, making Montenegro the “ahead of the pack” candidate among Western Balkans aspiring EU members. (04:16 – 04:39)

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2. Proxy Voting Reform in the European Parliament (04:54 – 05:37)

• The EU Parliament is considering allowing proxy voting for pregnant members:
  • From 2029, women could delegate votes to colleagues up to three months before and six months after birth.
  • Zoya:

    “Currently, the European Parliament doesn’t have provisions for women who are pregnant ... And the plan is ... women who are pregnant ... will be able to cast a proxy vote.” (05:00)

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3. Fights Over the EU Budget (05:45 – 07:10)

• Austria, leading a bloc of nine countries, is objecting to EU institutions’ request for 2,000 additional staff.

  • Austria’s Europe Minister Claudia Bauer argues it’s hard to justify to voters while domestic public services are being cut.
  • Nick:

    “This is where the real knife fighting is going on behind the scenes ... over this money, which covers seven years, right? Seven. Seven years from 2028 until ... 2034.” (06:52)

• Pushed by election cycles (notably, the looming French elections), there’s a time crunch to close the deal.

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4. EU’s Unified Rejection of Trump’s Iran Requests (07:10 – 10:50)

• Following Trump’s call for European help to secure the Strait of Hormuz:

  • The EU’s foreign ministers first floated options (potential maritime missions or a UN initiative) but by the end of the day had resoundingly said “no.”
  • Nick:

    “By the end of the day, it was no can do … if Donald Trump wants us to help out in the Strait of Hormuz, then he can make a formal request via NATO. But ... the President has already said no Polish troops to the region. So that’s effectively a blanket no.” (07:40)

  • Even Poland, traditionally a solid U.S. ally, refuses to send forces—President Karol Navrotsky’s refusal is surprising:

    “This is the Polish President, Karol Navrotsky, who is one of Donald Trump’s biggest fans and allies in the EU, and he’s saying, no way.” (08:27)

• EU skepticism toward interventionism—especially among far-right politicians—is highlighted.

• Luxembourg’s Deputy PM Xavier Patel delivers a notably pointed quote:

  • “His country isn’t going to give in to blackmail from the United States to participate in the Iran war.” (08:48)

  • Zoya dryly notes:

    “No ships, no guns, nothing. Nothing. Just a whole lot of nothing for Luxembourg.” (09:37)

• The refusal is raising new doubts about the long-term viability of NATO, with Trump framing the alliance as “they, not us” despite the U.S. being a founding member.

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5. Energy Crisis and EU’s Russia Quandary (10:24 – 10:50)

• Rapidly rising energy prices due to the Iran conflict bring renewed urgency and pressure to the EU summit agenda.
• Some, like Hungary and Belgium’s PM Bart De Wever, are floating the idea of reopening dialogue with Russia.
  • This is strongly opposed by most EU countries and the Commission:

    “The EU Commissioner for Energy, Dan Jorgensen, come out and say, we are not lifting our sanctions at all on Russian oil. This is not the time to do it.” (10:24)

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6. EU Concerns Over FIFA World Cup Security (11:12 – 13:38)

• EU Sports Commissioner Glenn McAuliffe raises alarms about security for European fans heading to the U.S. World Cup—a host country presently at war—which he has conveyed to FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

  • Lack of meaningful assurances frustrates the EU:

    “He [McAuliffe] said he spoke with FIFA president Gianni Infantino and raised these concerns ... FIFA ... have not really told him that is indeed the case.” (11:34)

• Infantino’s close relationship with Trump is under scrutiny:

  • FIFA’s $75M Gaza aid pledge and the Trump-initiated “Board of Peace for Gaza” are criticized as inappropriate venues for aid.
  • Infantino awarded Trump the FIFA Peace Prize—Zoya and Nick note the irony:

    “It just so happened that two months later, Trump launched the war in Iran, and before that, he had kidnapped the president of Venezuela. But ... he still got the FIFA Peace Prize.” (12:58)

• Tensions spill over to sports diplomacy:

  • The Football Federation of Iran calls for the U.S. to be disqualified from the Cup for its war actions, despite Iran being scheduled to play in LA.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Trump’s impact on EU agendas:

  “We had some plans for what we were going to do today and then … we saw a Truth Social post from Donald Trump … And now we’ve got to change everything and it’s all up in the air.” — Zoya (01:57)

• On Poland’s unexpected refusal:

  “This is the Polish President, Karol Navrotsky, who is one of Donald Trump’s biggest fans and allies in the EU, and he’s saying, no way.” — Zoya (08:27)

• On Luxembourg’s stance:

  “His country isn’t going to give in to blackmail from the United States to participate in the Iran war.” — Nick, quoting Luxembourgish Deputy PM (08:48)

  “No ships, no guns, nothing. Nothing. Just a whole lot of nothing for Luxembourg.” — Zoya (09:37)

• On Infantino and the FIFA Peace Prize:

  “Infantino gave Trump the FIFA Peace Prize … And it just so happened that two months later, Trump launched the war in Iran, and before that, he had kidnapped the president of Venezuela. But … he still got the FIFA Peace Prize.” — Nick (12:58)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:30 – 03:41: EU General Affairs Council – agenda and Ukraine/Moldova “front-loading”
• 03:41 – 05:00: Montenegro's EU progress; proxy voting reforms discussion
• 05:45 – 07:10: EU budget infighting
• 07:10 – 10:50: EU rebuffs Trump’s Iran demands; Poland’s “blanket no”
• 10:24 – 10:50: Sanctions and early signs of energy/russia policy splits
• 11:12 – 13:38: EU presses FIFA for World Cup safety; sports diplomacy ironies

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Tone & Closing

Conversational, crisp, with flashes of dry humor and pointed observations about Brussels’ political culture and its sometimes absurd theatrics on the world stage—punctuated by quips about football fandom and St. Patrick’s Day plans.

Memorable sign-off:

“May your troubles be less, your blessings be more, and nothing but happiness come through your door.” — Zoya, Irish blessing (14:03)

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SUMMARY

A tightly-packed, fast-paced briefing episode capturing EU high politics in real time, as leaders balance regional ambitions and internal divisions with U.S. unpredictability. Europe’s firm “no” to Trump highlights shifting dynamics in EU-U.S. relations, with underlying tensions playing out in defense, energy, enlargement, and even football—showing Brussels both at work and at wit’s end.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Good morning. It's Tuesday, March 17th, and this is the Brussels Playbook podcast. The vibe in Brussels today is, well, it's a little bit of the calm before the storm ahead of the European Council summit this Thursday. European affairs ministers are meeting in town and they've got some work to do. Also on the pod, the EU responds to Donald Trump's calls for help securing the straight of Hormuz. Spoiler alert, it ain't gonna happen. And the EU is also pressing FIFA over World cup safety. All right, I'm Zoya Sheftilovich. With me today is our chief foreign affairs correspondent, Nick Winicour. Hey, Nick.

[C]

Hey, Zoya.

[B]

What's up?

[C]

Your blood pressure, That's a whole lot of work.

[B]

Let's start with what's happening in Brussels today. European affairs ministers are in town for a general affairs council. That's just a fancy way of saying meeting and what's on their agenda?

[C]

So first thing will be to prepare the gathering of EU leaders, which is happening on Thursday. The ministers will go through draft conclusions, something we've had our hands on a few drafts already. There's Russia's war against Ukraine, competitiveness, the next EU budget and the latest developments in the Middle east, of course, Iran. The war there is going to overshadow this summit. China, just like Trump's threats against Greenland overshadowed the last one. There's a bit of a theme there, isn't there?

[B]

Yeah, there is. And this is something that when you talk to diplomats around town, it's a key theme in conversations. What they tell me is, well, we had some plans for what we were going to do today and then we woke up and we saw a truth social post from Donald Trump or some interview on Fox News. And now we've got to change everything and it's all up in the air. And that's what we're seeing ahead of this Thursday summit of EU leaders. It was meant to be the big one on competitiveness, but now this summit is going to be all energy prices and how to keep those prices down because of the impact that this war in Iran has had on oil and gas. And we'll talk a little bit more about what the EU plans in our second segment. But first up, the General Affairs Council, which is what's happening today. So that's where these European affairs ministers, they're going to be preparing for the European Council summit, but they also have a few tricks up their sleeve of their own. In the morning, there's going to be breakfast with Ukraine and Moldova and we're going to see a kind of what we're calling front loading of negotiating clusters for their EU membership bids.

[C]

Hold on. Front loading. Can you unpack that for us, Oya?

[B]

I sure can, Nick. It is basically, the EU cannot move forward with negotiations with either Ukraine or Moldova because Viktor Orban has said there's no way, while he is the prime minister of Hungary, that he's going to allow these things to proceed. Now, there's an election in Hungary on April 12, which our regular listeners will say we bang on about basically every day. But it is a key moment in the calendar this year. Ahead of that, what the EU is trying to do is get started on giving Ukraine and Moldova its homework of what it needs to reform, what changes it needs to make to its institutions, to its laws to so that both of them can be really advanced in their bids to join the eu.

[C]

Phased accession, Something like that?

[B]

Something like that, yes. So the plan is basically, we're going to give Ukraine and Moldova all of the work that they need to do to kind of get to where they need to be at to join the eu. And, you know, while Viktor Orban is blocking these negotiations, they can already be working on what they need to change. So we already saw the first lot of of these negotiating clusters they, they were given over late last year. And now this is the second half of that homework that Ukraine and Moldova are going to get today.

[C]

And there's something going on with Montenegro, if I'm not mistaken.

[B]

That's right. So this is before the General Affairs Council, and then after the General Affairs Council, there's going to be a meeting with Montenegro where the EU is going to announce that it has closed the 14th negotiating chapter of Montenegro's EU bid. I mean, that's a fancy way of saying Montenegro is moving full steam ahead on its negotiations.

[C]

So they're ahead of the pack at this stage.

[B]

They are Absolutely ahead of the pack. So that's the top and tail of the General Affairs Council, but there's actually a little guts in that council as well. And that's going to be this really interesting shift on proxy voting for members of European Parliament.

[C]

I like the top and tail and the guts. Really evocative. Tell us about proxy voting.

[B]

So, basically, currently, the European Parliament doesn't have provisions for women who are pregnant. So if you've had a baby and you're not there in the European Parliament to vote on various pieces of legislation, you lose it. You can't use it, so you lose it. And the plan is from basically, the hope is 2029, which is when the next EU election will occur, that from that mandate for the European Parliament, women who are pregnant, they will be able to cast a proxy vote. So that means give their vote to one of their colleagues to cast. And the plan is bas three months before the birth is expected and then six months after for that to be an option.

[C]

Sounds about right.

[B]

It does sound about right. And a lot of national parliaments have made these sorts of provisions already, and this is kind of normalizing it at that EU level.

[C]

There's also the discussion about the multiannual financial framework, the budget. I had a chance to sit down with Austria's Europe Minister, Claudia Bauer, and talk about Austria's push against the idea of EU institutions spending more on their own staff. So. So they got a coalition of nine countries together to protest this and say, your plans to hire 2,000 more staff are not going to fly. And I asked for some of the justification behind it, and she said, well, we can't go to our voters in Austria and say, well, we're cutting back on public services and we're downsizing the government under pressure from Brussels and also green light this extra spending for EU institutions. Now, that may not go down very well here in Brussels, where the services say they're strained, but it's certainly a big issue for them there.

[B]

There is a real rush to get the negotiations for this budget done this year, because next year is the French election. And there is a real fear that if the French presidency goes to the far right, that that may gum up all EU decision making. And this sort of discussion is going to really make things difficult.

[C]

Yeah. And this is one doesn't make headlines every day, but it's where the real knife fighting is going on behind the scenes over these resources, over this money, which covers seven years, right? Seven. Seven years from 2028 until another year 2034.

[B]

I've done the math so you don't have to. Well, we've got to move on to our second story. It's the Iran war and getting oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz again. Now, you were covering the Foreign Affairs Council, which is a meeting of the EU's foreign affairs ministers yesterday. And, and basically we went into that meeting with the EU's top diplomat, Kaya Callis, saying the EU is exploring options to get that strait open again. And she left saying, yeah, no, not going to happen.

[C]

Yeah. It was a classic case of EU whiplash. Start the day by exploring options. We may do a Black Sea initiative with the un. We may expand our EU maritime missions in the region. And by the end of the day, it was no can do on any of those. And what's come out from the minister's statements is that they say, well, if Donald Trump wants us to help out in the Strait of Hormuz, then he can make a formal request via NATO. But there you have a country like Poland, which has really been one of the closest US Allies through all its recent wars, saying, we're expecting that request, we'll review it. But the President has already said no Polish troops to the region. So that's effectively a blanket no to Donald Trump on any kind of participation in the Iran war.

[B]

This is the Polish President, Carol Navrotsky, who is one of Donald Trump's biggest fans and allies in the eu, and he's saying, no way.

[C]

Yeah. And it really shows where they split, right, where the, a lot of these far right politicians, anything that has to do with interventionism, acting outside their borders, it's just a no can do, no interest in joining in.

[B]

And the bottom line here is that this is once more a real question in terms of the viability and long term kind of existence of NATO. Because Donald Trump made this bombastic statement saying, you know, basically NATO is in doubt if these countries don't come to my aid. And by the way, he was talking about NATO as they, not us, despite the fact that NATO is very much an US for the us so it is once again a debate that is raising questions about the future of NATO. And we've also got some pretty strong statements from some of the EU's other countries. We've got the Luxembourgish Deputy Prime Minister, Xavier Patel. He said his country isn't going to give in to blackmail from the United States to participate in the Iran war.

[C]

Yeah, Luxembourg won't send any ships. Not clear they have ships, but they're not sending them to the Strait of Hormuz.

[B]

No ships, no guns, Nothing. Nothing. Just a whole lot of nothing for Luxembourg. Well, that's going to be landing quite well with Donald Trump, no doubt, when he hears all of these nos. This is going to be one that is really raised at that Yuko level, the European Council summit level on Thursday, because energy prices, as I said earlier, they have been going up so much around the block. There is a real cost of living crunch. The EU needs to do something to get prices down. And so one of the ideas that we're hearing from our friends in Budapest and, and also not just Budapest, but the Belgian Prime Minister, Bart Doever, is maybe we need to start dealing with Russia again. And that has gone down like a lead balloon with the other EU countries.

[C]

Yeah, this was something that was proposed by Hungary, as you said. And we already had the EU Commissioner for Energy, Dan Jorgensen, come out and say, we are not lifting our sanctions at all on Russian oil. This is not the time to do it. We need to keep pressure on Russia to the max. So you've got a big divergence with the US which has lifted some sanctions. And as you're pointing to earlier, those big strains within NATO are only going to get bigger in coming days.

[B]

So this is all going to come to a head on Thursday at that European leaders summit, because this is what gets people going. That cost of living is a huge, huge deal for people in various EU countries. And it's going to hurt. Nick, let's move to our last story of the day. Are you a football fan?

[C]

It really depends who I'm talking to.

[B]

What if you're talking to me?

[C]

I would say I don't care about it.

[B]

What if you're talking to a fella at the pub?

[C]

Love it. Follow all of it. My favorite club is FC Barcelona.

[B]

Oh. I'm a follower of Leeds because it has the colors of Ukraine.

[C]

It sounds like we're similar types of football fans.

[B]

Yep. Just. Just huge lovers of football. Our colleague Ali Walker has interviewed Glenn McAuliffe, who's the EU sports commissioner, and he has raised some concerns about potential safety of Europeans who are traveling to see the World cup in June in the U.S. he said that he spoke with FIFA President Gianni Infantino and raised these concerns and asked for assurances that despite the fact that the US which is one of the hosts, is at war, that fans and sports teams will be safe and that FIFA, the world governing body, and Infantino himself, have not really told him that that is indeed the case.

[C]

Indeed. He said he raised this Directly, but there hasn't been any follow up from FIFA since then, and he expects some more clarity. Now, the interesting thing to look at is Infantino's position, what kind of football diplomacy he's been conducting. He's been trying to get really, really close to Trump. What's he been doing?

[B]

Well, he has been join Trump's Board of Peace for Gaza, Nick. He's actually said that FIFA is going to donate $75 million for football infrastructure in Gaza after the war. Now, McAuliffe told Ali that projects like that should be going through UNESCO or unicef, not this Board of Peace, which Trump has organized. So he's taken a couple of shots at Infantino.

[C]

Absolutely. Let's remember that Infantino gave Trump the FIFA Peace Prize.

[B]

That's huge. Better than a Nobel.

[C]

She's the only person to ever get it, I believe. And it just so happened that two months later, Trump launched the war in Iran, and before that, he had kidnapped the president of Venezuela. But I believe he still got the FIFA Peace Prize.

[B]

Yeah, look, it checks out, Nick. But not only that, let's not forget Iran is meant to take part in this World Cup. It's been scheduled to play matches in LA against Belgium, New Zealand and Egypt. And the Football Federation of Iran has actually said, hey, maybe the US should be booted out of the Football World cup because they've declared war on us. Before we go, Nick, it's St. Patrick's Day today. Have you got any plans?

[C]

I'm going to sit on the couch and watch Derry Girls.

[B]

That sounds like the greatest St. Patrick's evening of all time. I'm going to the Irish Permanent Representations. Big gig at the Beaux Art this evening. I've been promised Guinness and oysters, which sounds like a really dangerous combination.

[C]

Well, I'm somewhat envious.

[B]

I'll bring you back some oysters tomorrow. I've actually dug up a fun Irish blessing for this occasion. May your troubles be less, your blessings be more, and nothing but happiness come through your door.

[C]

This rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?

[B]

It really does. Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of our Irish listeners, folks. That's it from us today. Sign up for the podcast, leave us a review. Bang us A rating. 5 stars is the best number of stars, so still, make sure you send us a note on WhatsApp. Our number is in the show notes. Nick, thanks for making it through this podcast.

[C]

Thanks for having me, Zoya.