EPC Podcast

A six-year dialogue between European and Chinese think tanks comes to a close at a moment of rising geopolitical and economic tensions. Bringing together more than 1,000 participants across 36 exchanges, this sustained engagement sought to deepen mutual understanding, explore areas for cooperation, and test the limits of disagreement between the EU and China. But what did these confidential discus...

Europe’s struggling automotive sector – still the continent’s largest manufacturing employer, accounting for nearly 14 million jobs and 7% of EU GDP – is facing contraction from the green transition, trade tensions and rising Chinese competition just as Europe seeks to rapidly scale up its underdeveloped defence industry. This episode explores how car and truck makers could help address critical d...

Can Europe withstand a new China shock? As China’s industrial overcapacity reshapes global trade, Europe faces a difficult question: how can it protect its manufacturing base without accelerating economic fragmentation? Ahead of the EPC’s second Brussels Economic Security Forum, this episode of The Language of Power explores whether Europe is entering a China shock of historic proportions – one dr...

A landmark EU–India Free Trade Agreement and accompanying Security and Defence Partnership, concluded after two decades of negotiations, brings together two major democracies representing a quarter of the world’s population and one-fifth of global GDP, with the ambition to double EU exports to India by 2032 while reshaping both sides’ strategic positioning amid tensions with the US, China and Russ...

Claude-France Arnould, Senior Fellow for European Defence at the Brussels Institute for Geopolitics and Former Director of the European Defence Agency, and Juraj Majcin, Policy Analyst at the European Policy Centre, join host Paul Taylor in this episode of The Language of Power to examine France’s proposal to extend its nuclear deterrent to European partners at a moment of growing uncertainty over...

Herman Portocarero, former Belgian and EU ambassador to Havana, and Iana Maisuradze, policy analyst in the EPC’s Europe in the World programme, join Paul Taylor in this episode of The Language of Power to assess Cuba’s deepening political and humanitarian crisis as the island faces renewed pressure from the United States. Against the backdrop of Washington’s tightening energy blockade, mounting ec...

Paul Taylor is joined by Fabian Zuleeg, Chief Executive and Chief Economist of the European Policy Centre, to examine Europe’s divided and uncertain response to the US‑Israeli war against Iran, a conflict that has left the EU sidelined while grappling with surging energy prices, heightened security risks and the prospect of fresh refugee flows. Their conversation explores why European leaders reac...

Paul Taylor explores how Russia is waging a hybrid war across Europe — from cyber attacks and sabotage to disinformation, election meddling, and drone incursions. Joining him are cyber‑security expert Hanna Linderstal and hybrid‑threat specialist Chris Kremidas‑Courtney to unpack the latest trends, Europe’s preparedness, and how countries like Sweden, Moldova and Hungary have been targeted. They a...

The United States and Israel have launched a war on Iran — killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and top advisers — with aims that appear to shift between forcing a nuclear deal and pursuing regime change. Paul Taylor is joined by Sanam Vakil, Director, Middle East and North Africa Programme at the Chatham House, and Mihai Chihaia, Policy Analyst at the European Policy Centre, to unpack th...

In this episode of The Language of Power, host Paul Taylor examines the grim fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine at a moment of intensified attacks. As Moscow pounds Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with waves of drone and missile strikes, talks between Russia, Ukraine and the US in Geneva quickly concluded without a breakthrough. Despite earlier optimism from US envoy Ste...

In this episode of The Language of Power, host Paul Taylor explores US President Donald Trump’s controversial new Board of Peace — a body created to implement his Gaza plan but aiming for a far broader global role. Launched with fanfare in Davos and joined mostly by authoritarian states, the Board raises serious concerns about its ambitions, legitimacy, and potential to sideline the UN. Most EU co...

In this episode of The Language of Power, Paul Taylor, Senior Visiting Fellow at the EPC, dives into the escalating transatlantic confrontation over Greenland that is testing the unity of NATO and straining relations between the United States and its European allies. Paul is joined by Professor Peter Fibiger Bang, Professor of History at the University of Copenhagen’s Saxo Institute, and Maria Mar...

As 2026 begins, Europe faces a sobering reality: great powers are rewriting the rules of global order while the EU struggles to assert itself. In this episode, host Paul Taylor is joined by Steven Everts (EUISS) and Almut Moeller (EPC) to unpack why Europe appears weak, divided, and reactive in the face of mounting geopolitical challenges — from Trump’s transactional diplomacy and Putin’s aggressi...

In this episode of The Language of Power, Paul Taylor, Senior Visiting Fellow at the European Policy Centre, examines the brutal diplomacy facing Ukraine as it navigates mounting pressure for a ceasefire on terms heavily tilted towards Russia. Paul is joined by Amanda Paul, Deputy Head of EPC’s Europe in the World Programme and lead of the Ukraine project, and Lev Zinchenko, Advocacy Programme Coo...

What happens to liberal democracy when not only institutions, but also social and societal rights come under strain? In a special edition of The Language of Power – recorded live at the margins of the EPC Annual Conference 2025 – Paul Taylor, Senior Visiting Fellow at the European Policy Centre, explores how threats to Europe’s democracy are evolving. After examining global and EU-level democratic...

In this episode of The Language of Power, Paul Taylor, Senior Visiting Fellow at the European Policy Centre, explores the dangers facing liberal democracy within the European Union and what can be done to counter them. Last week, we examined the global assault on democracy – from socio-economic and technological forces driving public alienation to the rise of a new authoritarianism, with a few bri...

In this episode of The Language of Power, Paul Taylor, Senior Visiting Fellow at the European Policy Centre, explores the global backsliding of liberal democracy and asks whether it is losing its anchor. Once seen as the inevitable “end of history,” democratic progress has stalled and reversed in many countries, including the United States, which now faces internal democratic erosion and a growing...

In this week's episode, host Paul Taylor explores how Europe can harness disruptive technologies to modernise its defence capabilities amid rising geopolitical tensions. Joined by Chris Kremidas-Courtney and Jonas Singer, the discussion dives into the challenges of integrating civilian innovations into military systems, critiques the outdated “dual-use” concept, and highlights what Europe, especia...

In this episode of Language of Power, Paul Taylor explores the tragic story of over 19,500 Ukrainian children abducted by Russia since the 2022 invasion, with only around 1,600 returned. Featuring insights from Mykola Kuleba, founder of Save Ukraine, and Thordis Kolbrun Gylfadottir, a former Icelandic foreign minister who is the Council of Europe’s Special Envoy on the situation of the children of...

This week’s episode of The Language of Power explores whether Washington and Europe are on different planets when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Just a day after President Trump unveiled a 20-point peace plan, securing Netanyahu’s backing while warning Hamas of annihilation, European countries led by France and the UK joined Saudi Arabia in recognising a Palestinian state. But will...

Is lasting peace finally within reach in the South Caucasus—or is the latest deal just another geopolitical powerplay? In this episode of Language of Power, we unpack the US-brokered peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, signed at the White House on 8 August, and explore what it means for the region and the wider world. Host Paul Taylor is joined by Matthew Bryza, former US Ambassador to...

In this episode of the Language of Power, Paul Taylor unpacks a turbulent summer of transatlantic diplomacy, shifting alliances, and war fatigue. From Putin’s headline-grabbing summit with Trump in Alaska to Zelenskyy’s tense Washington visit, the episode explores whether diplomatic showmanship can halt Russia’s brutal advance in Ukraine. While Russia escalates attacks and Ukrainians hold their gr...

In this episode of The Language of Power, host Paul Taylor, Senior Visiting Fellow at the European Policy Centre, examines the EU’s recent high-level summits with China and Japan. What can we learn from the frosty EU-China meeting in Beijing, which marked a tense 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations? And how does it compare to the broader, more cooperative outcomes of the EU-Japan summit held...

In this episode of The Language of Power, host Paul Taylor explores the high-stakes geopolitical tug-of-war over Moldova, a small country caught between EU integration and Russian interference ahead of its crucial parliamentary elections on 28 September. With insights from Tatiana Cojocari (WatchDog. MD Community) and Anastasia Pociumban (DGAP), the episode unpacks: • Russia’s full-spectrum campai...

The Language of Power – NATO’s summit in The Hague: a turning point or a phoney deal? This week, host Paul Taylor is joined by Jamie Shea and Iana Maisuradze to unpack the outcomes of the 2025 NATO Summit in The Hague – the first under President Trump’s return. Was it a moment of renewed unity or a carefully choreographed illusion? From Article 5 ambiguity to the 5% defence spending pledge, the ep...