POLITICO’s quiz of the year

EU plans to ban the use of words such as ‘burger’ and ‘sausage’ for plant-based foods were opposed by which famous musician?

• Paul McCartney
• Taylor Swift
• David Guetta

The Brussels region’s caretaker government asked EU institutions to cough up extra money to cover the ballooning costs of which project?

• Metro line 3
• Kanal art museum
• Schuman roundabout

EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner was declared “persona non grata” and ordered to leave which country?

• Morocca
• Lybia
• Eritrea

Martin Selmayr, the civil servant known as the “Monster of the Berlaymont”, was rumored to be returning to Brussels. It didn’t happen, but which institution was he supposed to be coming to work for?

• European Commission
• European External Action Service
• Council of the European Union

The EU ended the year with a marathon summit focused on providing funding for Ukraine. How many hours did it last?

• 12
• 14
• 16

George Simion, the firebrand who lost Romania’s presidential election in May, gained prominence in 2019 for a dispute with the country’s Hungarian minority. What did that clash center on?

• A Transylvanian castle
• A Transylvanian graveyard
• A Transylvanian church

Romanian warlord Horațiu Potra was taken into custody this year over an alleged coup plot. Where did hundreds of his mercenaries have to surrender earlier in the year?

• Congo
• Mali
• Niger

Nationalist boxing enthusiast Karol Nawrocki won Poland’s presidential election on June 1. How did he describe his past, taking part in pre-arranged fist fights with football hooligans?

• My wild, misspent youth
• Sporting, noble fights
• Just a bit of fun

Greece’s government has been rocked by a massive scandal over fraud involving EU farm funds. What is the name to given to one of the key personalities in the investigative files?

• Souvlaki (Meat Skewer)
• Frappé (Iced Coffee)
• Ouzaki (Little glass of ouzo)

Rome has finally given the green light to build the world’s biggest suspension bridge between Sicily and mainland Italy. What’s the price tag?

• €40 billion
• €13.5 billion
• €8.2 billion

Who won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize?

• Donald Trump
• Yuliya Navalnaya
• María Corina Machado

What happened to Canada’s conservative leader Pierre Poilievre on election night in April?

• He was egged by a protester
• He lost his seat
• Donald Trump called him “weird”

Which senior Russian official wore a “USSR” sweater when arriving in Alaska for U.S.-hosted peace talks about the Ukraine war?

• Sergey Lavrov
• Vladimir Putin
• Kirill Dmitriev

Sanae Takaichi became prime minister of Japan in October. Which political party is she a member of?

• Liberal Democratic Party
• Constitutional Democratic Party
• Japan Innovation Party

What happened in Kathmandu in September?

• The Nepalese government announced that Mt. Everest had shrunk by 7 meters
• Donald Trump signed a deal to extract rare earths from the Himalayan foothills
• Gen Z-led protests toppled the prime minister

Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani won the New York mayoral election in November. Which European football club does he support?

• Arsenal
• FC Barcelona
• Paris Saint-Germain

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated in September. In which U.S. state was he speaking when a gunman shot him?

• Nevada
• Arizona
• Utah

What percentage tariffs did Donald Trump slap on the penguin-inhabited Heard Island and McDonald Islands during April’s so-called Liberation Day?

• 10 percent
• 39 percent
• 75 percent

A prominent journalist was added to a U.S. government Signal group chat about bombing Houthi rebels in Yemen. Who was ousted as Trump’s national security adviser not long after the fiasco?

• Dan Caldwell
• Mike Waltz
• Chris Landau

Inauguration Day in January was a major celebration for Trump’s team. But why did Elon Musk court controversy?

• Appearing to give a Nazi salute
• Snorting coke in the White House bathroom
• Trying to obtain the nuclear launch codes

Which one of these did President Emmanuel Macron say during an artificial intelligence summit in February?

• “Let us Make AI Great Again”
• “Plug, baby, plug”
• “Elon who?”

How long did Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s first government last?

• 23 hours
• 17 hours
• 14 hours

What did Brigitte Macron call feminist protesters backstage at a comedy show?

• Heros
• Role models
• Stupid bitches

Which member of François Bayrou’s family admitted to being a victim of abuse in a scandal that ensnared the then-prime minister?

• His son
• His daughter
• His niece

Former President Nicolas Sarkozy wrote a 216-page prison memoir after spending less than three weeks behind bars. Which food did he complain about in his tell-all?

• A soggy baguette
• Steak au poivre without bernaise sauce
• The cheap wine served

Which prominent German politician pilots a Diamond 62A twin-engine aircraft?

• Boris Pistorius
• Katherina Reiche
• Friedrich Merz

Russian propagandists attacked Friedrich Merz in a fake news campaign this year. What did they accuse him of doing?

• Shooting a mommy polar bear and cubs in Canada
• Shooting a mommy giraffe and calves in Kenya
• Shooting a mommy tiger and cubs in India

German liberal leader Christian Lindner quit politics in February. What is he doing now?

• He went to work for Deutsche Bank
• He went to work for the Autoland car dealership
• He went to work for Porsche

Which of these claims was not made in a podcast between Elon Musk and Alice Weidel, leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany?

• Hitler was a communist
• Vegetarianism should be illegal
• Dinosaurs died out because they didn’t have spaceships

Former Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner took over as Bundestag president in March. What was her claim to fame 30 years earlier?

• She was Germany’s Sauerkraut Queen
• She was Germany’s White Asparagus Queen
• She was Germany’s Wine Queen

Which U.K. high-flyer was said to "practice a stringent, highly controlled, egg-based diet"?

• New U.S. ambassador Christian Turner
• Prime Minister Keir Starmer
• Lord High Chancellor Eggbert Nobacon

Britain's new Green party leader Zack Polanski faced scrutiny this year over which of the following?

• His previous membership of Nigel Farage's Reform UK
• A claim when he was a hypnotherapist that he could enlarge women's breasts with his mind
• An expletive laden attack on "f**king wooden plank" Keir Starmer at a party conference rally

Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss launched her own YouTube show this year. What was the tagline?

• Lettuce Take Our Country Back
• The Home of the Counter-Revolution
• The Fightback Starts Now

UK leader Keir Starmer described himself as what, in a bid to show he was fighting for working people?

• A rocksolid geezer
• A bareknuckle warrior
• A hard bastard

Why did then-Foreign Secretary David Lammy get into hot water while hanging out with JD Vance this year?

• Lammy failed to obtain a fishing license while the pair indulged in a chummy angling photo op
• Vance mistakenly phoned Donald Trump from his pocket while Lammy was midway through slagging the US president off
• Lammy's European flag arm tattoo offended the Vances when it was accidentally revealed over dinner

Russian athletes have been largely banned from international competitions since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine started. Which sport welcomed them back in November?

• Taekwondo
• Karate
• Judo

Donald Trump won the inaugural FIFA peace prize and was awarded a medal at the World Cup draw. Who placed it around his neck?

• Gianni Infantino
• Bob Geldof
• Donald Trump

Europe beat the United States at a bad-blooded Ryder Cup in September. Which EU commissioner turned up to watch a day of golf in New York?

• Michael McGrath
• Glenn Micallef
• Dan Jørgensen

Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain won the UEFA Champions League for the first time. What was the score against Inter Milan in the final?

• 1-0
• 4-1
• 5-0

Carlos Alcaraz beat Jannik Sinner in the U.S. Open tennis final at Flushing Meadows. Which company entertained Trump as a guest in their corporate box for the match? 

• Emirates
• Rolex
• JP Morgan

Which band caused an outcry when they chanted “death to the IDF” at Glastonbury Festival?

• Kneecap
• Bob Vylan
• Coldplay

How many minutes did it take for thieves to steal an estimated €88 million of jewels from the Louvre?

• 7
• 17
• 47

Who won the 2025 Nobel Prize for Literature?

• László Krasznahorkai
• Margaret Atwood
• Donald Trump

Which of these countries has not said it will boycott Eurovision after Israel was cleared to compete in the 2026 contest?

• Slovenia
• Croatia
• Spain

Which former EU commissioner now has a range of shoes named after them, and modelled them for adverts?

• Margrethe Vestager
• Věra Jourová
• Thierry Breton

"We must … reach for the most modern capabilities also related to nuclear weapons and modern unconventional weapons … this is a race for security."

• South Korean President Lee Jae-myung
• North Korean leader Kim Jong Un
• Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk

“Across Europe, free speech, I fear, is in retreat.”

• Nigel Farage
• JD Vance
• Elon Musk

To whom did Donald Trump say: “Where did you get that tan? I want to get a tan like that.”

• French President Emmanuel Macron
• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz
• European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde

“We risk becoming an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together."

• Nigel Farage
• Tommy Robinson
• Keir Starmer

“I am not Trump, I am actually very nice.”

• Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever
• Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof
• Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre