Politico Europe (stylized asPOLITICO Europe) is the European edition of the American news organizationPolitico reporting on political affairs of theEuropean Union. Its headquarters are located inBrussels with additional offices in London, Berlin, Warsaw, Paris, and Frankfurt.[3]
In September 2014,Politico formed a joint venture with German publisherAxel Springer SE to launch its European edition.[4][5] In December 2014, the joint venture announced its acquisition ofDevelopment Institute International, a leading French conference business, andEuropean Voice, a European political newspaper previously part of theEconomist Group, to be relaunched under thePolitico brand.[6][7] Among the participants of the launch event on April 21, 2015, wasPresident of the European CouncilDonald Tusk andPresident of the European ParliamentMartin Schulz.[8]
Politico Europe debuted with its first print issue two days later, on April 23, 2015.[9] The main sources of revenue are advertising, event sponsorship and paid subscriptions with nearly half coming from thesubscription business.[10]
In June 2018, the second year in a row, the annualComRes/Burson-Marsteller survey among EU experts namedPolitico Europe as the most influential publication on European affairs. Despite its relative newness to the Brussels media landscape,Politico Europe has ranked above established publications such as theFinancial Times,The Economist,BBC and theWall Street Journal, as well asTwitter andFacebook.[11] In August 2021,Axel Springer SE signed an agreement to acquirePolitico, including the remaining 50 percent share of its current joint venturePolitico Europe, as well as the tech news websiteProtocol fromRobert Allbritton for an estimated value of $1 billion.[12]
Politico Pro is a premium politics and policy news service that launched in 2015.[13] The newsletter based subscriptions cover different policy areas such as Agriculture and Food, Financial Services, Healthcare, Trade, Energy and Climate, Technology and Transportation. There are also products that are less industry focused but instead provide information on a certain topic likeBrexit,sustainability,data anddigitization, theEU Budget or competition. In April 2018,Politico Europe added DataPoint, a research platform that gives subscribers access to presentations and analysis about topics from various policy areas, to its subscription portfolio.[14]Politico Pro's paid offerings reach 45.000 subscribers.[15] Subscription prices start at 7000 euros a year, but can also be in the high five-digit range.[16]
In July 2018,Politico Europe announced the acquisition of technology from Statehill Inc, and the subsequent launch of a data-driven information platform, Pro Intelligence.[17][18]
In March 2018, Florian Eder took over the flagship morning newsletterBrussels Playbook from Ryan Heath, who authored theBrussels Playbook for three years.[19] In September 2017,Politico Europe launched theLondon Playbook morning newsletter with Jack Blanchard as the lead writer.[3]Brussels Playbook has around 100,000 subscribers,[20]London Playbook has 40,000 subscribers.[21]
In September 2021, Irish journalist Suzanne Lynch and Politico reporter Jakob Hanke Vela replaced Florian Eder, as authors of the Brussels Playbook.[20]
Each year Politico Europe releases a list of the 28 most powerful figures in European politics. It is usually divided between nine Doers, nine Disrupters, nine Dreamers and electing "the Most Powerful Person in Europe".
Kate Day was appointed Senior Executive Editor of the European operation of Politico in late 2024.[32]Jamil Anderlini was appointed Politico's Editor in Chief in Europe in 2021.[33] In late 2024 it was announced that Anderlini would move into the role of Regional Director of POLITICO's European operation.[34] In November 2024, Julia Wehrle was appointed to the role of Chief Revenue Officer for Europe.[35] Previous top editors included Stephen Brown who was named Executive Editor in September 2019,[36] andMatthew Kaminski who is nowPolitico's editor-at-large, based in Washington.[37][38] Brown died suddenly of a heart attack on March 18, 2021.[39]Shéhérazade Semsar de-Boisséson was the CEO until she stepped down at her own request and was replaced by Claire Boussagol.[40] Following Axel Springer's acquisition of Politico in 2022,[41] Goli Sheikholeslami was appointed as global CEO of the Politico media group.[42]
The majority of the publication's articles cover the day-to-day business of theEuropean Commission, theEuropean Parliament, theCouncil of the European Union and the EU's interactions in domestic and international affairs.Politico Europe also publishes profiles of important or influential public figures within the European Union.[40]Politico Europe also organizes and hosts EU-related conferences, seminars, and debates.[16]
