Centre for European Reform

In our latest Centre for European podcast, host Octavia Hughes is joined by the research fellow Aslak Berg, deputy director Ian Bond and senior research fellow Luigi Scazzieri to find out what a Labour victory in the UK general election would mean for EU-UK relations. They discuss Labour's flexibility on its red lines and changes to trade, security, defence and foreign policy. Produced by Octavia Hughes

In our latest Centre for European podcast, host Octavia Hughes is joined by the 2023-24 Clara Marina O'Donnell fellow Christina Keßler and senior research fellows Zselyke Csaky and Luigi Scazzieri to discuss the results of the European Parliament elections. They dissect the implications of the results on green policies, defence, the rule of law and enlargement, and react to France's President Emmanuel Macron's snap election announcement. Produced by Octavia Hughes

This is an audio recording from the Centre for European Reform and the Delegation of the EU to the UK's discussion on 'Expanding Horizons: 20 years of EU membership – paving the path for future EU enlargement' with Amelia Hadfield, Head of Department of Politics & Founding Director at the University of Surrey, Simona Leskovar, Ambassador of Slovenia to the UK, and Anand Menon, Director of UK in a Changing Europe. Pedro Serrano, EU Ambassador to the UK, gave some opening remarks and Ian Bond, Deputy Director at the Centre for European Reform, chaired the panel. Produced by Octavia Hughes

In our latest Centre for European podcast, host Octavia Hughes is joined by the 2023-24 Clara Marina O'Donnell fellow Christina Keßler and senior research fellows Zselyke Csaky and Luigi Scazzieri to discuss the upcoming European Parliament elections. They explain how the president of the European Commission is selected, unpack concerns surrounding voter turnout and examine the implications of a more right-wing Parliament on the EU's legislative agenda. Produced by Octavia Hughes

In our latest Centre for European Reform podcast our director Charles Grant and Dr Yu Jie, senior research fellow on China at Chatham House's Asia Pacific programme, join podcast host Octavia Hughes to discuss China's shifting foreign policy. They analyse the success of Beijing's European charm offensive, the strength of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping's friendship and China's objective to create a multipolar world order. Music by Edward Hipkins Produced by Octavia Hughes

On April 18, former Italian prime minister Enrico Letta published his hotly-anticipated report, assessing the state of Europe's single market. Research fellow Aslak Berg and assistant director Zach Meyers sat down with podcast host Octavia Hughes to discuss the key takeaways from the report, as well as its shortcomings. They assess the reaction from European leaders and the Commission, and share their thoughts on what we can expect to see in Mario Draghi's report on competitiveness, due to be published in June. Their insight can be read here: https://www.cer.eu/insights/enrico-lettas-report-more-market-less-agenda Music by Edward Hipkins Produced by Octavia Hughes

The EU has for years been a proponent of better regulation: steps to make sure regulation is evidence-based, proportionate, and made in a transparent way. However, there has been a perception that the quality of regulation in the bloc has declined recently. To discuss the EU's performance on better regulation and what the next Commission might improve on, assistant director Zach Meyers was joined by Anthony Teasdale, visiting professor at the London School of Economics and past Director-General of the European Parliamentary Research Service. They debate the efficacy of von der Leyen's 'one-in, one-out' system and explain what the five year term for president of the Commission means for policy making, among other things. Zach's paper on better regulation can be read here: https://www.cer.eu/publications/archive/policy-brief/2024/better-regulation-europe-action-plan Music by Edward Hipkins Produced by Octavia Hughes

Globalisation may not have gone into reverse, but it is surely changing – and not in Germany’s favour. Encouraged by the US, von der Leyen wants to push ahead with the ‘economic security strategy’, which would seek to limit the export of advanced technologies to China. But Germany worries that the Commission is trying to grab new powers and that it could provoke retaliation or even a trade war with China. In this week's podcast, host Octavia Hughes is joined by Sander Tordoir, senior economist at the CER, and Shahin Vallée, senior research fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations, to discuss all this and more. Sander and Shahin explain why Germany has such a special relationship with China and the steps the EU can take to mitigate the risks China poses to the German economic model. Music by Edward Hipkins Produced by Octavia Hughes

As we enter the third year of full-scale war in Ukraine and the possibility of Trump's re-election becomes more likely, Charles Grant, director, and Luigi Scazzieri, senior research fellow, consider how the EU's role in defence is changing. They discuss where the money for a larger defence budget would come from and whether the Commission could play a role in defence planning. Charles concludes the podcast with a quiz on the many acronyms that appeared in the Commission's latest press releases on defence. Music by Edward Hipkins Produced by Octavia Hughes

In our latest Centre for European Reform podcast Dame Melinda Simmons, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Ukraine 2019-2023, and Hanna Shelest, Director of Security Programmes at the Foreign Policy Council Ukrainian Prism, join the CER's Deputy Director, Ian Bond, on the two-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. They examine the media's portrayal of the conflict and shed light on the mood in Ukraine before suggesting how Ukraine might navigate its defence production challenges and what Europe can do to help. Music by Edward Hipkins Produced by Octavia Hughes