The US embassy’s divisive birthday bash

Listen on Spotify Apple Music Cast Box Pocket Casts The U. S. embassy’s mega 250th birthday bash in Brussels is one of the most sought-after events for the city’s top brass … but it’s also drawing ire. Today on the show, Zoya Sheftalovich and Ian Wishart discuss why MEPs and environmental activists are growing increasingly frustrated with this American July 4th celebration. The event is set to be attended by 5,000 people and will shut down the public Cinquantenaire park for up to 36 hours. Also on the show, we got our hands on the spending figures of lobby groups in the EU capital. Which country doles out the most cash to influence policymaking? We break it down. And finally: The FIFA World Cup officially kicks off today, so we ranked the tournament’s countries . If you have comments, do send us a voice note or message us on WhatsApp here or at +32 491 05 06 29.