Friends of Europe podcasts
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We're a leading think-tank that connects people, stimulates debate and triggers change. Don't forget to tune into our weekly Frankly Speaking Podcast on European and world affairs.
Episodes
- Policy Voices | Election in Hungary: a national vote with European consequences
In this episode of Policy Voices , we unpack the outcome of Hungary’s 12 April 2026 landslide election, examining its impact domestically, across Europe and the Europe-made brand of far-right populism. We ask what Péter Magyar’s victory me…
- Policy Voices | Europe’s energy grids: towards a more integrated approach
Electricity grids have become the backbone of Europe’s energy transition, yet the infrastructure needed to meet rising demand, decarbonise industry, and strengthen energy security remains under pressure. In this episode, we explore the cha…
- Policy Voices | Cutting methane, cutting uncertainty: energy security and simplification
Methane is often overlooked in climate debates, yet it is a powerful driver of global warming. Far more potent than CO₂ in the short term, cutting methane emissions today can slow warming within the next decade. For Europe, tackling methan…
- Policy Voices | Why is Europe at war and what needs to be done
Host Thomas Van Vynckt, Head of Security and Defence at Friends of Europe, is joined by Myroslava Gongadze and Gábor Iklódy, Senior Fellows at Friends of Europe. Myroslava is a Ukrainian-US national whose husband was abducted and murdered…
- Policy Voices | Seizing the opportunities of the future
This is the tenth and final episode of Overcoming Polarisation: Paths to Common Ground, a podcast series from Debating Europe, Friends of Europe’s citizen engagement unit. Europe is feeling fractured. Whether it’s politics, climate, tech,…
- Policy Voices | Personal stories of the Western Balkans' brain drain
What do we talk about when we talk about brain drain? What actually makes a highly skilled person choose to move away from their country? Wha makes them decide to never go back? Brain drain has been one of the most hotly debated issues whe…
- Policy Voices | Breaking new ground: Women shaping independence and cybersecurity
Twenty-five years after the Women, Peace and Security agenda was enshrined through Resolution 1325, the face of war looks completely different. And so does the face of peace. Breaking new ground, women are now involved in negotiating peace…
- Policy Voices | How China is shaping the future of AI
While EU countries debate the role of artificial intelligence in our lives and economy, China has embedded AI at every level, from the home to the streets and the factories. We wanted to find out more about this new shift in China’s role i…
- Policy Voices | Fighting for the green transition
This is the ninth episode of Overcoming Polarisation: Paths to Common Ground, a podcast series from Debating Europe, Friends of Europe’s citizen engagement unit. Europe is feeling fractured. Whether it’s politics, climate, tech, or trust i…
- Policy Voices | The reconfiguration of global trade connections
As geopolitics shakes our perception of the world on a nearly daily basis, how does this translate in the tangible terms of the economy? Are states that seem at odds with each other actually avoiding investing in each other, or are they in…
- Policy Voices | Bringing space diplomacy down to Earth
When we talk about geopolitics, we tend to look around ourselves at eye level. We look at countries and borders, institutions and politicians, trade and wealth, identity and community... Recently, we’ve also started looking down, as the ru…
- Policy Voices | Europe's now-or-never moment
On October 16th, Friends of Europe organised its annual State of Europe high-level roundtable, where many of the continent’s brightest minds got together to debate issues ranging from geopolitics to the single market, enlargement to defens…
- Policy Voices | The state of our energy
Europe is experiencing a decisive moment in terms of its energy: it is at the crossroads of fossil fuels and renewables, as well as in a delicate geopolitical balance with the countries who have the resources to supply energy. Trying to we…
- Policy Voices | What could bring people together?
This is the eighth episode of Overcoming Polarisation: Paths to Common Ground, a podcast series from Debating Europe, Friends of Europe’s citizen engagement unit. Europe is feeling fractured. Whether it’s politics, climate, tech, or trust…
- Policy Voices | Recognising women's peace building work
Twenty-five years after the Women, Peace and Security agenda was enshrined through Resolution 1325, the face of war looks completely different. What started off as an initiative from a handful of women in conflict-torn countries was at fir…
- Policy Voices | The challenges of AI data centres in Europe
As the uptake of Artificial Intelligence (AI) increases in many sectors of the economy, all of that infrastructure has to be supported somehow: that is where data centres come in. The most advanced economies are rushing to scale up their d…
- Policy Voices | What divides us?
This is the seventh episode of Overcoming Polarisation: Paths to Common Ground, a podcast series from Debating Europe, Friends of Europe’s citizen engagement unit. In this episode, we’re looking into the nature of polarisation, with the oc…
- Policy Voices | Ukraine's war, reshaped by women. Ukraine's women, reshaped by war
Twenty-five years after the Women, Peace and Security agenda was enshrined through Resolution 1325, the face of war looks completely different. New geopolitical configurations, new ideological visions, technology and social media have made…
- Policy Voices | (Re)building competitiveness across social divisions
This is the sixth episode of Overcoming Polarisation: Paths to Common Ground, a podcast series from Debating Europe, Friends of Europe’s citizen engagement unit. In this episode, we’re unravelling equity’s many facets, analysing this delic…
- Policy Voices | Rebuilding trust in a polarised society
This is the fifth episode of Overcoming Polarisation: Paths to Common Ground, a podcast series from Debating Europe, Friends of Europe’s citizen engagement unit. This episode features a recording from the public session of our European You…
- Policy Voices | Bottom-Up Pressure: Can Communities Shape the Green Future?
This is the fourth episode of Overcoming Polarisation: Paths to Common Ground, a podcast series from Debating Europe, Friends of Europe’s citizen engagement unit. In this episode, we’re discussing how citizens can influence climate policy.…
- Policy Voices | Enlargement and the EU's defence
This is the third episode of Overcoming Polarisation: Paths to Common Ground, a podcast series from Debating Europe, Friends of Europe’s citizen engagement unit. In this episode, we’re discussing the EU’s enlargement, with a particular vie…
- Policy Voices | Defence in the time of distrust
This is the second episode of Overcoming Polarisation: Paths to Common Ground, a new podcast series from Debating Europe, Friends of Europe’s citizen engagement unit. In this episode, we’re discussing distrust, disinformation and a dissona…
- Policy Voices | A historic NATO summit raises defence spending target to 5% of GDP
All eyes were on The Hague this week, as a historic NATO summit concluded on Wednesday with new commitments to increase defence spending. US president Donald Trump dominated the conversation and managed to do what many previous US presiden…
- Policy Voices | #Throwback: UNRWA’s Jonathan Fowler on Gaza: “It is a war of superlatives”
***This show is a re-run*** While all eyes are now turning to the most recent escalation of conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Iran, the situation in Gaza continues as dire as ever. On Monday alone, more than 30 people were kil…
- Policy Voices | (Re)building fairness: What does a better tomorrow look like?
This is the first episode of Overcoming Polarisaton: Paths to Common Ground, a new podcast series from Debating Europe, Friends of Europe’s citizen engagement unit. Europe is feeling fractured. Whether it’s politics, climate, tech, or trus…
- Policy Voices | Poles castigate Tusk and hand again the Presidency to Law and Justice
Two weeks ago, the centre held in Europe after a Super Sunday of elections in Romania, Portugal and Poland. And that was in part because of Poland where the centrist Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski narrowly beat the nationalist Karol Nawroc…
- Policy Voices | Re-imagining Europe’s health systems
Next week, Friends of Europe is organizing the event “Re-imagining Europe’s health systems”. This event aims to imagine a resilient, sustainable and innovative healthcare system for Europe. Ahead of this event, host Catarina Vila Nova sat…
- Policy Voices | Centre holds in Romania, Portugal but will this be the last chance to prove it can govern?
After a Super Sunday in Europe, Policy Voices brings you three guests. The three consequential elections took place in Romania, Portugal and Poland and history kept repeating itself. The centre holds far from an absolute majority, the far-…
- Policy Voices | With dwindling US support, what is the future of the WPS agenda?
Pete Hegseth’s decision to scrap the Women, Peace and Security agenda from the Pentagon came as a surprise given that the Women, Peace and Security Act was signed by Donald Trump in his first mandate as President of the United States. Howe…
- Policy Voices | 75 years later, is it time to revisit the Schuman Declaration?
Today marks 75 years since the Schuman Declaration. What started first and foremost as a peace project has developed into a European Union with a single market, an official currency for 20 EU countries and freedom of movement. However, at…
- Policy Voices | Addressing the housing crisis: local solutions for a European problem?
It is not a new problem but the housing crisis has gotten bad enough that the European Commission created a Housing Task Force and, in the European Parliament, the Special Committee on the Housing Crisis in the EU was born. In simple econo…
- Policy Voices | Making the case for confiscating Russian assets
In three months, EU leaders will gather once again to decide – or not – to extend sanctions to Russia for another six months. It is a dance everyone is getting used to with Hungary threatening to make good on its veto until another EU lead…
- Policy Voices | Getting serious about European defence integration
Russia’s war in Ukraine, rising instability in the Middle East and North Africa and an unpredictable transatlantic alliance expose deep vulnerabilities in Europe’s defence architecture. Considering the precedent of the European Defence Com…
- Policy Voices | Voices for Choices: Citizens want governments to be more proactive on defence and cybersecurity
Citizens in Europe want their governments and the EU to be more proactive on defence and cybersecurity. This is one of the conclusions of a new study soon to be published by Debating Europe, the citizens’ engagement unit of Friends of Euro…
- Policy Voices | “We must break the cycle of impunity”, urges Ukrainian Nobel Peace Prize laureate
In this episode of Policy Voices, host Catarina Vila Nova is joined by Oleksandra Matviichuk, an Ukrainian human rights lawyer. She heads the Center for Civil Liberties which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in the same year Russia starte…
- Policy Voices | EU Agency for Fundamental Right’s Director: “You cannot have rights-free zones when the EU is taking action”
In today’s episode of Policy Voices, host Catarina Vila Nova sits down with Sirpa Rautio, the Director of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). In this wide ranging interview on the state of fundamental rights in the EU,…
- Policy Voices | Lina Galvez, Chair of FEMM Committee, on feminism, gender backlash, Pelicot and Hermoso
The rise of far-right politicians to power across the Western world has led to a normalization of a discourse that many would be ashamed to speak just a few years ago. The normalization of misogyny in the public sphere is just the first st…
- Policy Voices | Decoding the German elections: Can Merz stop the rise of the AfD?
The results are in and Germany chose its new chancellor. To the surprise of no one, Friedrich Merz will succeed Olaf Scholz and Europe can finally get to work after being on hold since November. The challenges are plenty and Germany’s new…
- Policy Voices | The most consequential week for Europe’s security since February 2022
Today marks the end of what was perhaps the most consequential week for the future of Europe’s security and defence since the beginning of the Ukraine war. Still reeling from a shocking security conference in Munich over the weekend, Europ…
- Policy Voices | What is the cost of not doing Carbon Dioxide Removal?
This year, the European Union will be working on amending the European Climate Law. The importance of this law cannot be understated: it is the European Climate Law that defines the goal set out in the European Green Deal to become climate…
- Policy Voices | Trump 2.0: How to not lose hope on climate action
How to stay hopeful on the fight against climate change during Trump 2.0? Well, a great first step is listening to Helen Mountford. Helen Mountford is the President and CEO of ClimateWorks Foundation, a global platform for philanthropy to…
- Policy Voices | Trump 2.0: How to not lose hope on American democracy
In just his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed a number of executive orders that threaten American democracy and are already being challenged in the courts. With the system of checks and balances in question and a Democrati…
- Policy Voices | Trump 2.0: How to not lose hope on Peace, Security, and Defence
With Trump back in power it is all too easy to lose hope. As the guest in today’s episode of Policy Voices says, the next few years are going to be “a wild ride”. Nonetheless, there may be some silver linings when it comes to peace, securi…
- Policy Voices | NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Transformation and the future of the alliance
In June, Admiral Pierre Vandier became NATO’s new Supreme Allied Commander Transformation. A few days ago, Admiral Vandier came to Friends of Europe for a conversation with our senior fellow Jamie Shea, who is also the former Deputy Assist…
- Policy Voices | A “watershed” moment: Is CERN for AI the solution to Europe’s most pressing problems?
It has the potential to revolutionise Europe’s AI future but in the midst of all the political drama from the past weeks, you probably didn’t hear about it. Announced in Von der Leyen’s political guidelines for the next Commission, officia…
- Policy Voices | From pledges to promises: can developed nations trust they’ll ever see the money from COP?
It wouldn’t have been COP if the negotiations had been completed by last Friday – the last scheduled day of the conference. It was a long and drawn out process that only ended when many negotiators were already with their suitcases packed…
- Policy Voices | The horse trading that delivered Europe its new Commission
In this episode of Policy Voices, host Catarina Vila Nova speaks with Alberto Alemanno, Jean Monnet Professor in EU Law at HEC Paris, Founder of The Good Lobby, Trustee of Friends of Europe and 2014 European Young Leader (EYL40), about the…
- Policy Voices | Reactions from Europe: Trump is in, time for the EU to step up
Final results are in and are devastating for US Democrats. Republicans not only won the White House but they also regained control of the Senate and held on to the House achieving the government trifecta. In the end, Donald Trump won the e…
- Policy Voices | A glaciologist and a greentech entrepreneur on a mission to fight climate change
With COP29 starting in just a few days, world leaders are heading to Azerbaijan with images of Spanish towns wiped out by water and cars piled up on streets that hide the true devastation of one of the worst floods in Europe of this centur…