Friends of Europe podcasts

22 FEBRUARY 2022: In this third episode of Friends of Europe’s Frankly Speaking podcast, Senior Fellows Jamie Shea and Paul Taylor are joined by guest speaker Colonel Michael Ryan, Former deputy assistant secretary of defense for European and NATO policy at the United States Department of Defense. Russian tanks rolled into the Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk to the east of the country o...

17 FEBRUARY 2022: In this episode of Friends of Europe’s Frankly Speaking podcast, Senior Fellows Chris Kremidas-Courtney, Paul Taylor and Jamie Shea discuss the latest developments in the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Will he, won’t he invade? In a week which saw US President Joe Biden warn of imminent war and German Chancellor Olaf Sholz fly to Moscow aiming to keep diplomacy alive, the whole world tri...

8 FEBRUARY 2022: Friends of Europe Senior Fellows Jamie Shea and Paul Taylor unpick the latest movements in the Russia-Ukraine crisis. In a week that has seen diplomatic efforts with French President Macron in Moscow and Kiev, and the new German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, speaking with President Joe Biden we ask them: Can this new wave of diplomacy avert war? Is President Macron going on behalf of F...

Is the EU executing the decisive gear-shift that is needed to not only meet its own ambitious climate targets and agree on its vision for climate neutrality by 2050, but to successfully lead the way globally? Experts gathered at the Friends of Europe debate ‘Shifting gears: achieving climate neutrality by 2050’ – held in Brussels on 19 February – to assess where Europe is at, what it needs to do,...

The world energy market continues to experience major transformations: the rapidly falling cost of renewables and breakthrough innovations in energy use give reason to think that change is on the horizon. Organised at a time of critical leadership change in Europe, the presentation of the 2019 edition of the International Energy Agency’s flagship World Energy Outlook takes into account all the lat...

As required by the EU Governance Regulation, every EU country must submit its final plans for achieving the 2030 targets on energy efficiency, renewables and greenhouse gas emissions. The plans – which cover the period of 2021-2030 – must be bold, comprehensive and inclusive, while considering Europe’s global competitiveness and trade interests. Not only will countries have to revise their Nationa...

The urgency of the climate crisis is impossible to brush off. Even if we wanted to ignore the extreme weather events that have plagued the planet recently, Greta Thunberg, along with hundreds of thousands of students from across Europe, have been making sure that we don’t. While the momentum for action is increasing across the board, civil society is clearly leading the charge, showing more enthus...

Previous years have seen tremendous advancements in the rollout of new socially-driven technologies aimed at empowering citizens to become prosumers. As the ‘yellow vests’ movement highlights, citizens are asking for more social justice and argue that industry remains the privileged player. At the same time, some EU industries protest that current energy and climate policies may hinder their compe...

The EU has already made great progress on the treatment of rare diseases. However, persistent gaps remain. Of the 5000 to 8000 rare diseases that exist in the EU, 95% do not have an effective therapy. On top of that, about a quarter of orphan drugs fail to reach marketing authorisation. Our 2017 debate on the subject revealed that budget pressures, bureaucratic obstacles and problems of scale are...

Greater EU strategic autonomy in defence and security is bound to be met with mixed reactions. While leaders in France, Germany and Spain have endorsed an EU army, transatlantic allies have rejected the idea. What are the perspectives from outside of the EU on the talks of a greater European strategic autonomy? Old alliances are being tested through the recent rise of protectionist stances and new...

The 2019 EU elections pose a new test for those seeking greater European strategic autonomy. Considerable gains for populist parties could see a change in the EU’s approach to defence and its geopolitical aspirations as a whole. On the other hand, pro-European coalitions could lead to the development of more autonomous enterprises such as the European Intervention Initiative. Furthermore, the ques...

In a time when Europe is divided and geopolitical tensions are high, North Macedonia has delivered on its promises. By reaching the Prespa Agreement with Greece and normalising relations with Bulgaria, it has bolstered its efforts to join the EU and NATO. That was the main conclusion that participants reached during Friends of Europe’s ‘Conversation With’ the President of North Macedonia Stevo Pen...

In March 2019, the European Parliament voted in favour of a motion that would phase out a number of single-use plastic items across the EU by 2021. The new law sets a 90% collection target for plastic bottles by 2029, committing Member States to this goal. Furthermore, plastic bottles will have to contain at least 30% recycled content by 2030. The European Parliament, alongside several forward-loo...

What should be in the policy toolbox for the new EU Mandate? Citizens are calling for a different and better Europe more aligned to their needs and their inclusion. Uncertainty and unpredictability appear to be the new order of the day, and are upturning the certainties that policy-makers have held for decades. The EU is in a delicate balance and the choices that it makes now will be decisive in s...

Fabrice Pothier is Senior advisor at Transatlantic Commission on Election Integrity; Senior consulting fellow at Institute of Strategic and International Studies and Chief Strategy Officer at Rasmussen Global

The world energy sector is experiencing major transformations. Energy markets and the climate crisis are important, but governments will drive energy decisions as most investments are government-driven, Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), said at the official 27 November launch of the World Energy Outlook 2018 report – regarded as the “gold standard in energy...

Access to the world’s shared water resources is inextricably linked to socio-political and economic ‘power dynamics’ that impact hugely on people’s lives and livelihoods. This was one of the key messages of Friends of Europe’s 25 March Policy Insight debate “The ripple effect: water as a tool for peace and sustainable development”. As we prepare for the “changing of the guard” in the EU “we have a...

When a country’s security is threatened, UN peacekeepers must intervene only after politicians have exhausted all possibilities for conflict prevention. This key conclusion emerged in the first debate in a new series of ‘Lessons from history’, held in Brussels by Friends of Europe on 19 March 2019. Featuring three peace and security experts, focused on UN operations in Africa, the event aimed to b...

hat more can the EU do to stop girls’ education languishing as a footnote and instead be the headline to the conversation about the world’s sustainable development goals? Gender equality and access to quality education are key parts of the UN’s Agenda 2030, but should it really be called ‘Gender 2030?’, asked Friends of Europe at its Educating Girls debate in Brussels on 27 February. Every day 130...

Investors are increasingly flocking to financial products that offer social as well as monetary returns, a Friends of Europe event has heard. With an estimated $6tn a year required over the next 15 years to achieve the UN’s 2030 sustainable development goals - and the world having reached “peak overseas development aid” - institutional investors and private equity firms are having to get creative,...

The second morning session of the SHAPE ENERGY conference hosted by Friends of Europe on 22 January looked at how to finance research for innovate leadership. To address the current climate crisis and boost Europe’s competitiveness, the EU must use its funding wisely to understand the implications of social sciences and humanities research in its agenda to accelerate action on climate change. Spea...

The first morning session of the SHAPE ENERGY conference hosted by Friends of Europe on 22 January focused primarily on how to facilitate the integration of the social sciences and humanities into energy systems. Speaker included Aziza Akhmouch (Head of the Cities, Urban Policies and Sustainable Development Division, OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities), Simone Abram (Anthro...

The afternoon session of the SHAPE ENERGY conference hosted by Friends of Europe on 22 January featured presentations from a number of H2020 funded projects from across Europe, including PROSEU; INNOPATHS and the EU Energy Poverty Observatory, in which they shared their journeys and key takeaways from their experience dealing with energy-related topics. Following an introduction from Xavier Trouss...

The third session of the Climate and Energy Summit hosted by Friends of Europe on 18 October centred around the search for cost-efficient ways with which to accelerate Europe’s transition to a climate-friendly continent. During this transformative period, strategies aiming to decarbonise EU industries will play a crucial role. Speakers included Erica Hope (Senior Associate at the European Climate...

The second session of the Climate and Energy Summit hosted by Friends of Europe on 18 October looked at the potential of digitalisation to bring about a transformation in the development of clean technologies. To achieve sustainability objectives, energy infrastructures and systems will need to undergo extensive digitalisation. Speakers included Kirsten Dunlop (Chief Executive Officer at EIT Clima...