Europe Speaks: A TEPSA Podcast

In this new episode of EU History Explained, Giulia Bonacquisti, Project Manager at the Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA), takes a look at the history of one of the most important Institutions of the European Union: the European Council. The European Council gathers together the Heads of State or Government from the European Union’s Member States. It has over the years become the E...

In this new episode of #EUHistoryExplained, Giulia Bonacquisti, Project Manager at the Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA), takes a look at the troubled history of the UK's relations with Europe.  It is two years since the United Kingdom formally left the European Union, and over one year since the end of the #Brexit transition period. But the difficult relations between the UK and t...

In this episode of EuropeChats, Jim and Mariam look back at the challenges faces by the EU in 2021, and think ahead to 2022 to consider what may lay ahead for the European project.   2021 remained mired in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and 2022 looks set to continue that trend, in a context of disappointing global vaccination rates and the new Omicron variant of the disease. But Europe was not on...

In this special episode of EuropeChats, we are joined by Prof. Michael Kaeding. Michael is Jean Monnet Chair ad personam at the University of Duisburg Essen, and along with Johannes Pollak and Paul Schmidt, he is co-editor of a series of books stemming from the TEPSA Network. The "Views from the Capitals" series draws on the expertise of the TEPSA Network to produce books that analyse topical Euro...

In this special episode of EuropeChats, we are honoured to be joined by Ailish Campbell, the Ambassador of Canada to the European Union, to discuss EU-Canada relations: where have we been, how far have we come, and where are we going? Canada is one of Europe's most important international allies, and at a time of change for Europe and the world, it is important to take stock of such relationships....

In this special episode of EuropeChats, we are taking a look at the serious issue of migration, with TEPSA Secretary-General Jim Cloos interviewing Giles Merritt on the subject of his book "People Power: Why We Need More Migrants".  The flaws of the Dublin system having been laid bare by the Refugee Crisis of the mid-2010s, migration has shot to the forefront of EU debate. In Hungary, government r...

In this new episode of #EuropeChats , we’re taking a look at the legacy of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Chancellor Merkel announced this year that she would be standing down after 16 years in power. The German elections took place on 26 September 2021, and for the first time since 2005, we knew she would not emerge as Chancellor. TEPSA Secretary-General Jim Cloos prepared European Council summ...

In this new episode of EU History Explained, Giulia Bonacquisti, Project Manager at the Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA), takes a look at the history of one of the most important parts of the European Union: the Euro, our common currency.  In a few months, we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the introduction of Euro banknotes and coins, which came into circulation on January...

In this podcast, Brigid Laffan from the Robert Schuman Centre of the European University Institute explains how Brexit is a perfect case study in two critical aspects of differentiated European integration: external and internal differentiation. In this DiCE Webinar, we explore the Barnier Escalier system of negotiation, and how the intersection of British and European red lines with this Escalier...

In this podcast, Nicoletta Pirozzi gives her expertise on differentiated integration. She is the Head of the European Union Programme and Institutional Relations Manager at the International Affairs Institute in Rome, Italy; a Board member of TEPSA and coordinator of the EUIDEA project. In this DiCE Webinar, she explains how differentiated integration can – and should – factor into the future of E...

In this podcast, Sandra Kröger from the University of Exeter explains the risks and benefits of differentiated integration. In this video, we explore why differentiation can lead on the one hand to efficiency gains in a way which promotes diversity and makes things more fair; whereas on the other hand it risks fragmentation, division, and domination.  This series from DiCE – Differentiation: Clust...

In this new episode of #EuropeChats , we’re analysing the newest buzzword in Brussels: "European Strategic Autonomy". We discuss the reasons why this new term arose: we live in an increasingly hostile global environment, and we have faced multiple crises in recent years, from the subprime crisis through the refugee crisis and Brexit, as well as the COVID crisis, and these have revealed weaknesses...

In this podcast, John Erik Fossum from ARENA Centre for European Studies (part of the University of Oslo) elaborates on the concept of differentiated integration in the framework of democracy theory. He discusses key elements of the debate around differentiation, including the fact that some forms of differentiation are necessary in order for democracy to function properly, and therefore that demo...

In this new episode of #EUHistoryExplained, Giulia Bonacquisti, Project Manager at the Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA), takes us back in time to the early 1950s.  Last episode, we learned about Europe in the wake of war, where an intellectual background dating back to the 1920s came to the fore to foster integration in Europe. This episode, we learn how an attempted defense and p...

In this new episode of #EuropeChats, we’re analysing the EU’s response to the #COVID19 crisis. For more than a year, the world has been caught in the grip of the coronavirus pandemic, and providing a successful response has been a significant challenge to the EU throughout.  In this episode, we discuss how and why the initial response was made, including why mask and PPE procuration was such a sig...

In this first episode of #EUHistoryExplained, Giulia Bonacquisti, Project Manager at the Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA), takes us through the earliest years of European integration after the Second World War.  In the wake of war in Europe, and with an intellectual background dating back to the 1920s, the origins of the modern EU formed. In this episode, we are looking at the tim...

This brand new series from the DiCE – Differentiation: Clustering Excellence, “DiCE Webinars” takes the full knowledge of Europe’s leading experts on differentiated integration, and presents it in an easy to digest podcast format. In this first podcast, Frank Schimmelfennig from ETH Zürich explains concepts and theories of differentiation, and answers such questions as:  What is differentiated int...

In Episode 2 of EuropeChats, Jim Cloos (TEPSA Secretary General) & Mariam Khotenashvili (TEPSA Executive Director) discuss whether there is such a thing as a common European interest and, if so, what it is, and how it is created. The discussion kicks off discussing the origins of the European interest and continues by looking at how it historically evolved and how positions of national interes...

In this podcast, TEPSA Secretary-General Jim Cloos gives a short history of differentiated integration. Jim explores five different examples of differentiated integration: the accession of new Member States, the Schengen Area, the Euro, the Social Chapter of the Maastricht Treaty, and European Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). Jim makes three conclusions: that DI is a natural phenomenon,...

In Episode 1 of EuropeChats, Jim Cloos (TEPSA Secretary General) & Mariam Khotenashvili (TEPSA Executive Director) tackle the origins of the European Union and debate the main events which led to the EU as we know it today. The discussion explores the European Coal and Steel Community, the division of powers within the EU institutions and the Member States, the complexity of democracy in a sup...