European Liberal Forum

What should be a proper European response to the hybrid attacks by Russia on European territory? How should we view the post-American Middle East and its relationship with Europe? What role is Italy playing today within the EU and what are (and what should be) the country’s ambitions? And what is the current EU policy on migration? Leszek Jazdzewski (Fundacja Liberte!) talks with Francesco Rocchet...

In this episode of the Liberal Europe Podcast, we go to Łódź for a live recording of the panel with the title "Strategic Foresight: Identifying Risks, Threats and Opportunities for the European Union", where Leszek and Ricardo are joined on stage by Jolanta Szymańska, the Head of the European Union programme at the Polish Institute of International Affairs, and Cátia Moreira de Carvalho, a Marie C...

How is a waning liberal order shifting the ground beneath Europe's feet? What does Russia’s aggressive revisionism mean for the future of European security? How is Turkey leveraging cooptation to play global powers against each other? Can Europe successfully navigate an increasingly intense strategic and economic rivalry with China? Leszek Jazdzewski (Fundacja Liberte!) talks with Dimitar Bechev,...

What can be a strategic vision for EU finance and industry moving forward? In this episode of the Liberal Europe Podcast, Ricardo Silvestre (Movimento Liberal Social), welcomes (back) Marco Cecchi de'Rossi, and also Marianna Vintiadis and Filippo De Nicola, for a panel discussion on what the stress points are, but also the opportunities, for better decision processes in the European Union. Mariann...

What is modern Türkiye's relationship with its republican, secularist origins of Kemal Atatürk's republic from 1923? How is the relationship between Türkiye, the United States, and the West evolving? How is Türkiye positioning itself in the region in the aftermath of the Arab Spring? And is Europe's stance toward Türkiye hypocritical? Leszek Jazdzewski (Fundacja Liberte!) talks with Soli Özel, a S...

The Affordable Housing Act is about to be introduced. For a short-term rental platform like Airbnb, the housing agenda should be a competitiveness tool. In this episode of the Liberal Europe Podcast, Ricardo Silvestre (Movimento Liberal Social) continues a conversation about the upcoming Affordable Housing Act, this time with George Mavros, the Head Government Affairs & Public Policy Campaigns EU...

The Affordable Housing Act is about to be introduced. How can a social investment framework help address housing supply needs? In this episode of the Liberal Europe Podcast, Ricardo Silvestre (Movimento Liberal Social) starts a two-part conversation about the upcoming Affordable Housing Act, this time with Marcel Roy, the Secretary General European Association of Public Banks (EAPB), a Brussels-ba...

What are the most common misconceptions about liberalism? Why has the history of liberalism as an inspirational ideal been lost? How did liberalism come to mean so many different and conflicting things? And what is the historical relationship between 'liberalism' and 'democracy'? Leszek Jazdzewski (Fundacja Liberte!) talks with Helena Rosenblatt, a Distinguished Professor of history, political sci...

What makes a civilization thrive and why do civilizations collapse? Is human nature inherently good and it is actually institutions that are simply oppressive? What did Thomas Hobbes get wrong in his reasoning? And what are 'Goliaths'? Leszek Jazdzewski (Fundacja Liberte!) talks with Luke Kemp, who researches the end of the world. He is the author of the bestselling book ‘Goliath’s Curse: The Hist...

How can the European Union project continue to be built in a secure and democratic way? In this episode of the Liberal Europe Podcast, Ricardo Silvestre (Movimento Liberal Social), welcomes Strahinja Subotić, Programme Manager and Senior Researcher at the European Policy Centre and think tank in Belgrade (EPC-Belgrade), to talk about some of the work done by EPC-Belgrade and himself on the topic o...

What structural strategies must the political center implement to effectively reclaim the future for liberal democracy? How can governance bodies connect abstract concepts to the everyday lived experiences of citizens? What distinct emotional promises allow the populist right wing to capture public dissatisfaction so effectively across Europe? And how does the algorithmic, endless design of modern...

What is one of the key elements relatively underexplored in European competitiveness? The quality of management. In this episode of the Liberal Europe Podcast, Ricardo Silvestre (Movimento Liberal Social), welcomes Radu Mihail, independent consultant and former Senator in Romania, who co-authored, with former MEP Vlad Botos and Vice-President of the NGO The Liberal Community Maria Ionescu, the ELF...

What should we know ahead of the 2027 presidential election in France? What topics will likely dominate the political debate ahead of the election?  What has recently changed in terms of Marine Le Pen's candidacy for the president? Where does the enormous support base for the Rassemblement National come from?  And what is the legacy of President Emmanuel Macron?   Leszek Jazdzewski (Fundacja Liber...

What message did Armenian voters actually send in the 2026 elections? And can Armenia's European path survive the disinformation, external pressure, and polarisation reshaping its politics? Tatevik Matinyan, human rights advocate and chairperson of Armenia's Institute of Liberal Politics, joins Ricardo Silvestre to unpack the results, the propaganda playbook that echoes what we've seen in Hungary...

How can we make technology work for us and not the other way around? What is the difference between "algorithms" and "androrithms"? Does outsourcing thinking to AI erode people's capacity to think and leads to the rise of "super-stupidity"? And what will human agency look like in the future? Leszek Jazdzewski (Fundacja Liberte!) talks with Gerd Leonhard, a top-rated futurist and a leading global k...

What does the future of European banking actually look like, in a world of perpetual crisis, heavy regulation, and consolidating institutions? Annarita Morelli, a strategy and governance executive who has worked on the front lines of Italy's financial system, joins Ricardo Silvestre on the Liberal Europe Podcast, to make the case for proximity banking, smarter resilience, and a financial sector th...

Is the Visegrad Group still relevant? Is it expereiencing its renaissance after Péter Magyar's win in Hungary? What is the relationship between the Visegrad countries and Ukraine? What types of projects does the International Visegrad Fund foster and what is their relevance in terms of cultural cooperation? And can civil society funding be considered as part of democratic infrastructure? Leszek Ja...

What does real partnership between Europe and Africa actually look like in 2026? In this episode of the Liberal Europe Podcast, Ricardo Silvestre is joined by Rui Santos, CEO of CESO Development Consultants, a Portuguese firm celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and one of the most experienced implementers of European Commission projects across Africa, Latin America, and Asia. The conversati...

Does the idea of an open society still have a place in today's world? Which four exponential forces currently run the world? And how to reconcile Europe's values and vision with those of other key geopolitical players? Leszek Jazdzewski (Fundacja Liberte!) talks with Mark Leonard, Co-Founder and Director of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), the first pan-European think–tank. Tune i...

How dangerous is the far right in Germany? What should we know about the rise of neonazi terrorism? And what is the role of the secret services in Germany? Leszek Jazdzewski (Fundacja Liberte!) talks with Jacob Kushner, an international journalist who reports on migration, terrorism and violent extremism, science and global health in Africa, Germany, and the Caribbean. He is the author of "China’s...

Europe has the resources, the talent, and the scale to rival the US and China — so why doesn't it act like it? In this episode, recorded live in Milan with the Adam Smith Society, Ricardo Silvestre sits down with Marco Cecchi de'Rossi, an investment committee member at Arpinge SpA and board member at SIDAM for a wide-ranging conversation on what's really holding Europe back. They dissect the non-t...

Is Europe walking into a new China shock? Sam Goodman — Senior Policy Director at the China Strategic Risks Institute joins Ricardo Silvestre to dissect the EU–China relationship at a moment of real turbulence. From Middle East fallout and the Strait of Hormuz, to trillion-dollar trade imbalances, Merz's first Beijing visit, Macron's tariff push, and the Commission's economic security agenda, this...

How has the recent election transformed the Bulgarian political scene? What will be the European priorities of the newly formed government? What is Rumen Radev's main message? And what was his secret that helped him ensure a win? Leszek Jazdzewski (Fundacja Liberte!) talks with Maria Simeonova, the Head of the Sofia office at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). Her areas of focus inc...

What does it take to communicate politics in a world shaped by algorithms, memes, and constant online dialogue? In this episode of the Liberal Europe Podcast, Ricardo Silvestre sits down with Ahmed Kosovac,Marketing Communications Team Lead at Naša stranka and Council Member at Općina Novo Sarajevo, to unpack how digital platforms and AI are transforming the way politics is practiced and understoo...

Can Europe attain digital sovereignty? What are the limits of the EU's regulatory power? Is the dichotomy between sovereignty and a colony unavoidable? And what is Europe's digital grand strategy? Leszek Jazdzewski (Fundacja Liberte!) talks with Dr José Ignacio Torreblanca, a Senior Adviser and Distinguished Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Tune in the for their talk! Wa...