Central Europe Explained

🎧 Episode 60: What Will 2025 Bring? A View from the IDM 🌍✨ In this special season finale of Central Europe Explained , the IDM team gathers for a roundtable discussion reflecting on the decisive moments of 2024 and looking ahead to the challenges and opportunities of 2025. 💬 From personal highlights to professional achievements, we explore the lessons learned about democracy, resilience, and i...

EP 59 Ukraine recovery facilities 🌍🎙️ How do you rebuild a country while it’s still at war? In this episode of Central Europe Explained , host Sebastian Schäffer explores Ukraine's financial recovery and the immense challenges of reconstruction amidst ongoing war. 💬 Featuring insights from Olga Pindyuk, an economist at the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, we dive into the urg...

🎧 Episode 58: How Democracy Can Fight Back?   🌍🎙️ In an age of growing far-right, nationalist and authoritarian movements across Europe and beyond, how can democracy respond? This episode of Central Europe Explained looks at the internal and external forces threatening European democracies and explores what it takes to safeguard democratic values.   💬 From the rise of populism and dis...

🎧 Episode 57: Unlikely Activists? A Local View of the Polish-Belarus Border 🌍🎙️ What drives everyday people to risk legal and social consequences to help migrants stranded at the Polish-Belarus border ? In this episode of Central Europe Explained , host Malwina Talik speaks with Marianna Wartecka, a social activist deeply involved in supporting refugees. 💬 From volunteering to full-time activis...

🎧 Episode 56: Hungary’s EU Presidency 🌍🎙️ In this episode of Central Europe Explained , hosts Gloria Becerril and Peter Techet take a deep dive into Hungary's current presidency of the Council of the European Union. Join us as we discuss the implications of this controversial leadership with László Andor, a former EU Commissioner and renowned economist. 💬 We explore public sentiment surrounding...

🎧 Episode 55: Schengen   What does the Schengen Area represent for Europe, and why are Bulgaria and Romania still waiting for full access despite fulfilling all the requirements? 🎙️ In the latest episode of Central Europe Explained , we explore these pressing questions with the Romanian and Bulgarian ambassadors.   🔑 One of our guests shares a personal story from his student days, when...

🎙️✨ Welcome to Central Europe Explained episode 54 Join us as we explore the intriguing world of minilateralism in Europe . We will touch upon the aim of alliances like the Visegrad Four and the Three Seas Initiative and how they shape the future of the EU. Our special guest, Romain Le Quiniou , will share his insights on the effectiveness and challenges of these formats, offering a deep dive int...

🎧 Episode 53: Future Enlargement 🌍🎙️ In this episode of Central Europe Explained, host Francesco Danieli chats with Sebastian Schäffer , director of IDM, about the future of the EU . Join us as we discuss the potential and challenges of EU enlargement and what lies ahead for Europe. Tune in for an insightful and engaging conversation! 🇪🇺✨ Book : "Balkan nach Europa - Sofort!" Meet our target re...

🎧 Episode 52: 20 Years of the EU enlargement 💭 Do you remember May 1, 2004 , when the European Union had its largest expansion? In this episode of Central Europe Explained , we hear personal stories from politicians, writers, and key figures who were part of this historic event. Listen to Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Noémi Kiss, Jiří Šitler, Juraj Droba and Rudolf Schicker share their memories and th...

Episode 51:  2024 European Parliament elections  🌟 In our season 4 opener , Central Europe Explained unpacks the 2024 European Parliament elections with a diverse panel from across Europe. Discover personal stories, insights on the elections' impact, and the future of the EU. Tune in for a compelling discussion that goes beyond politics! 🌐 🎙️ Panel guests: Sebastian Schäffer, Kamila Bo...

Central Europe Explained is back for a fourth season! As the world evolves, so do the narratives within the Danube Region and Central Europe. Our next season aims to foster the engagement between our listeners and all the pivotal issues taking place in our target region and the world. We want to show our audience that everything that happens around us in the spheres of finance, politics and scienc...

Episode 50: 70 years IDM - Locating the future  🎙️ Celebrate 70 years of history and hard work with us on The Central Europe Explained Podcast! 🌐 In this special episode, host Gloria Becerril takes you through the Platinum Jubilee of the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe (IDM). Hear insights from distinguished speakers, including Austria's Federal President and Minister...

EP 49 Gender EquiCEEty: Representation, inclusion and intersectionality in Central and Eastern Europe   Taking a brief look at statistics, it may seem that in many regards women in Central and Eastern Europe enjoy more (economic) equality and independence, especially if we consider the gender-pay gap, the percentage of female professionals in STEM fields, and female managers. But if we d...

Belonging and becoming: strengthening the EU project In this episode Daniel Martínek engages in an exploration of European identity and the challenges it faces. Our guest, Niccolò Milanese, founding director of European Alternatives, sheds light on the need to strengthen the European Union in the thick of growing Euroscepticism . We touch upon the interplay of human rights, democracy, and the rule...

Is Europe still a fortress? Refugees in Central and Eastern Europe In CEE (and beyond) migration has become an issue that polarizes and evokes a wide range of emotions. In their conversation, Melanie Jaindl and Malwina Talik discuss three important dates in the recent history of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) : 2015 (the 'long summer of migration'), 2021 (the humanitarian crisis on the Poland-Be...

Timișoara Unveiled: A Journey through Multiculturality, Art, and Communism    In 2023, the Romanian city of Timișoara holds the title of European Capital of Culture. Tourists are flocking to the city as it is thriving with art exhibitions and cultural events – one can literally find art around every corner in Timșioara these days. Amidst the art, visitors can also witness the historical...

For most people holidays means a week at the beach, or a visit to picturesque cities. But that’s not the first things coming up in everyone’s mind. Some people seek the thrill, the misery: they visit places of previous genocide, natural and man-made catastrophes and former war zones. Places, of which Central-, East- and Southeast Europe have plenty – given the region’s specific historical, cultura...

In this episode we will dive into the journey of the editor and author Rod Dreher, who recently announced that he is moving to Hungary to work for the think tank Danube Institute. Dreher aims to make Hungary the centre of the American conservative dialogue, as he considers Budapest a hub of a network against globalism, which has been under construction for a few years. We will explore the reasons...

While feminist foreign policy has been successful in promoting gender equality in some countries, it has also been criticised for imposing Western values onto other cultures and failing to address specific needs. This podcast episode explores the strengths and weaknesses of feminist foreign policy, its current state and the challenges it is facing in order to ensure a gender perspective is present...

The Danube Region, Central and Eastern Europe, in other words everything between Germany and Austria, Moldova and Ukraine, down to the Balkans, is a very diverse region when it comes to national minorities. There are very significant populations of people living in countries neighbouring their so-called “kin-states”, such as the Hungarian minorities in Slovakia, Transcarpathia in Ukraine, and Tran...

10 years after joining the European Union in 2013, on 1 January 2023, Croatia entered the Eurozone. As it is replaced by the Euro, the Croatian old currency, the Kuna (HRK), will slowly become an object, yet a device full of history.    Since 5 September 2021, prices in both currencies have been displayed and dual circulation of EUR and HRK banknotes was allowed until two weeks befo...

Central Europe Explained is back for a third season! CEE 3.0 follows specific events and topics happening over the years in the Danube Region. If you are not familiar with CEE yet, this podcast focuses on several topics of general interest: geopolitics, human rights, economy, culture, democracy, etc. With experts from and about the region, we explore those various fields.    We aim...

Learning and mobility are different concepts, yet interconnected.    One can think about them as a human right, privilege, advantage or opportunity.    Access to education and freedom of movement is often taken for granted. However, we are not all equal towards those: living in a warzone is an example of this contrast.    For this final episode of the 17th DRC Summer...

Is University in Exile the future of Central Europe?      In 2018, with the Hungarian government banning CEU from welcoming new students, the university had the relocate its activities from Budapest to Vienna.    This direct attack on university autonomy is an example of the current fight for academic intuitions for their freedom.    What is the cu...

The structure of our social system is based on an important and tight triumvirate: science and academia, policy-makers, and civil society. However, in recent years we have witnessed a weakening of the relationship between these elements.    What is the reason for this fading, and what are the consequences of it? How can we remind each other that we are all playing for the same team and n...