Europe Speaks: A TEPSA Podcast

EU History Explained - From the EEC to today’s European Union

In this new episode of EU History Explained, Giulia Bonacquisti, Programme Manager at the Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA), takes a look at the recent history of the European project, with a focus on how we came from debating what form integration should take in the 1960s and 1970s to the formalisation of much of what we recognise today as the European Union through the Single European Act, Maastricht Treaty, and eventually through the Lisbon Treaty, which is still in force today.

In this video, we discuss how, from the purely economic integration project of the European Economic Community, created in 1957, we ended up with today’s European Union: a complex structure comprising not only a single market, but also common policies, as well as rights and obligations for European citizens. Today’s European Union is a polity which, among other things, allows us to circulate freely across Member States, to live and work abroad, to participate in local and European elections in other countries, and to feel part of one big family with our fellow Europeans. But it is also an ongoing process that cannot yet be considered achieved. As the Treaties say, the EU is permanently striving to build “an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe”, and even today a broad debate is taking place about the future of the EU and the reforms needed to make it more effective and closer to citizens, including young people.

EU History Explained is TEPSA’s video series exploring the origins of the modern EU. If you have ever wondered how the European Union of today came to be, or what lies behind the talk of politics being shaped in ‘Brussels’, then this is the series for you!

We would like to thank the Historical Archives of the European Union at the European University Institute for their contribution.

Script: Giulia Bonacquisti
Recording & Editing: Eva Ribera & Hugh Evans
Music: Garrett Bevins - Infinite - Infinite (Wondershare Filmora X)

EuropeChats – Building a Competitive Economy for Europe | Discussion with Michele Chang

This episode of EuropeChats is a discussion between Michele Chang, a Professor at the College of Europe in Bruges, and TEPSA Secretary-General Jim Cloos. The discussion focusses on building a competitive economy for Europe. In the context of TEPSA's recently published European Council Experts' Debrief, which drew together experts from across the TEPSA Network and beyond (including Michele Chang) to analyse the conclusions of the March 2023 European Council, Jim's talk with Michele revolves around the challenges to Europe's economy, and opportunities to make it more resilient in future.

In particular, the discussion surrounds the United States' Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a source of tension in the trans-Atlantic relationship due to its content which is perceived by European leaders as being too protectionist. The challenge of China also features in the talk on how the EU's economy, dominated as it is by the EU's status as the world's largest trading power, is affected by factors outside its own borders. The discussion then moves on to how the EU might build up the Banking Union and Capital Markets Union, as well as an assessment of the Stability and Growth Pact.

This episode is a discussion with Prof. Michele Chang. Michele is the Director of the Transatlantic Affairs Programme and Professor in the European Political and Governance Studies Department at the College of Europe in Bruges. You can read her contribution to the recent European Council Experts' Debrief, as well as all the other fascinating analyses contained therein, on TEPSA's website.

EuropeChats is is the flagship podcast of TEPSA and it is part of the TEPSA Podcast Channel “Europe Speaks”

Music: Worakls, 22 September 2014, Salzburg, Hungry music

This video is co-funded by the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme of the European Union

Co-Funded by the European Union.

EuropeChats – Building European Security Against Russia | Discussion with Dr. Kristi Raik

This episode of EuropeChats is a discussion between Dr. Kristi Raik, Deputy Director of the International Centre for Defence and Security in Tallinn, Estonia, and TEPSA Executive Director Mariam Khotenashvili. They discussion focusses on building European security against Russia. In the context of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, the EU has since February 2022 been thrust into a new and vital debate on how to deal with an expansionist Russia which has initiated the first land war in Europe since the Second World War.

In particular, the discussion surrounds the recent Joint Agreement on EU-NATO Cooperation, the reasons why Western military support to Ukraine has been given in such small steps, and why decisions such as sending German Leopard tanks to Ukraine was fraught with indecision. In addition, the two discuss whether there is any prospect for a normalisation of relations with Russia in the wake of a Ukrainian victory, or even after Putin’s rein comes to an end, whether in the short or long term. What is the role of the EU in this war? How can it step up its support to Ukrainian forces? How can Ukraine’s European future be ensured?

This episode is a discussion with Dr. Kristi Raik. Kristi is a TEPSA Board Member and Deputy Director of the International Centre for Defence and Security, where she is also the Head of the Foreign Policy Programme. The discussion occurs on the basis of a paper Kristi recently co-authored with Martin Hurt entitled “Building European Security Against Russia – A View From Estonia”.

EuropeChats is is the flagship podcast of TEPSA and it is part of the TEPSA Podcast Channel “Europe Speaks”

Music: Worakls, 22 September 2014, Salzburg, Hungry music

Co-Funded by the European Union.

EuropeChats – EU-Russia Relations | Special Talk with Heidi Hautala

This episode of EuropeChats is a special talk between Heidi Hautala MEP, Vice-President of the European Parliament, and Jim Cloos & Mariam Khotenashvili, on the subject of the European Union's response to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. In the context of a recently published book coordinated by TEPSA, "Russia and the Future of Europe: Views from the Capitals", we discuss a number of questions surrounding the war.

In particular, the discussion surrounds the current measures taken by the EU, including 8 sanctions packages, financial & equipment support to Ukraine's struggle, and the crucial granting of EU Candidacy status to Ukraine, as well as what the EU can do to better support Ukraine in the ongoing war. In addition, the recent recognition of the European Parliament that Russia is a state sponsor of terrorism forms an important part of the discussion: what does this mean in practice, and what can the EU do to further punish Russia for its aggression?

This episode is a special talk with Heidi Hautala, Finnish MEP for the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance, and Vice-President of the European Parliament. MEP Hautala is serving her fifth term in the European Parliament and has dealt for many years with international trade, EU external relations, human rights, development, legal affairs and the EU budget.

EuropeChats is is the flagship podcast of TEPSA and it is part of the TEPSA Podcast Channel “Europe Speaks”

Music: Worakls, 22 September 2014, Salzburg, Hungry music

EU History Explained - European Foreign Policy: The Birth of the CFSP

In this new episode of #EUHistoryExplained, Giulia Bonacquisti, Project Manager at the Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA), takes a look at the role the United States played in the history of European integration.

In this podcast, we investigate how this informal cooperation formed in the so-called European Political Cooperation will lead over recent decades to today’s Common Foreign and Security Policy. Two main Treaties are significant in this more recent development of European foreign policy: Maastricht, signed in 1992 and establishing the European Union proper. As part of this Treaty, one of its three 'pillars' becomes Common Foreign and Security Policy. Year later, when the Lisbon Treaty is signed in 2007 and comes into force in 2009, the Common Security and Defence Policy is born and the EU is granted legal personality, meaning it can conclude international agreements. But the road is not so smooth: in this episode we discover yet more challenges posed in the road to a European foreign policy. This episode is the second in a two-part series on European Foreign Policy.

EU History Explained is TEPSA's series exploring the origins of the modern EU. If you have ever wondered how the European Union of today came to be, or what lies behind the talk of politics being shaped in 'Brussels', then this is the series for you!

We would like to thank the Historical Archives of the European Union at the European University Institute for their contribution.

Script: Giulia Bonacquisti
Recording & Editing: Eva Ribera & Hugh Evans
Music: Garrett Bevins - Infinite - Infinite (Wondershare Filmora X)

EU History Explained - European Foreign Policy: The Road to European Political Cooperation

In this new episode of #EUHistoryExplained, Giulia Bonacquisti, Programme Manager at the Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA), takes a look at the history of a difficult policy area for Europe: foreign policy.

A sensitive subject for European countries in the wake of World War II, foreign policy integration has a storied history and remains a key area of discussion in the modern European Union. In this podcast, we take a look back to the early days of the European project, mapping proposals and developments, both failed and successful, to further integrate European states in the foreign policy field. In a context of a war-weary post-war European continent, a new geopolitical factor in NATO, and rising Cold War tensions, European leaders' efforts to integrate their countries' foreign policy was no less complex. This episode, the first in a two-part series on the history of European foreign policy, deals with the initial steps on the way to a European foreign policy, and a series of unsuccessful attempts in the early years to development in the 1970s of certain informal cooperation practices – the so-called European Political cooperation.

EU History Explained is TEPSA's series exploring the origins of the modern EU. If you have ever wondered how the European Union of today came to be, or what lies behind the talk of politics being shaped in 'Brussels', then this is the series for you!

We would like to thank the Historical Archives of the European Union at the European University Institute for their contribution.

Script: Giulia Bonacquisti
Recording & Editing: Eva Ribera & Hugh Evans
Music: Garrett Bevins - Infinite - Infinite (Wondershare Filmora X)

EuropeChats – Changes in EU Foreign & Security Policy | Interview with Benjamin Tallis

This episode of EuropeChats focusses on the foreign and security policy of the European Union, in particular the transformation it has gone through since the start of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. This episode was recorded in November 2022 shortly after the Ukrainian liberation of Kherson. With Ukraine’s victory becoming more and more plausible, TEPSA Executive Director asks special guest Benjamin Tallis where the EU and its 27 Member States stand between unity and division. How ready are they to support Ukraine in the coming months?

This episode is a special interview with Benjamin Tallis, research fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). He focuses on the politics of European security, particularly concerning the European Neighbourhood, borders and migration. He previously worked for the EU on security missions in Ukraine and the Balkans and was policy officer at the European Centre of Excellence for Civilian Crisis Management in Berlin. He also worked at the Institute of International Relations in Prague and contributed to drafting the EU Global Strategy in 2016.

EuropeChats is is the flagship podcast of TEPSA and it is part of the TEPSA Podcast Channel “Europe Speaks”

Music: Worakls, 22 September 2014, Salzburg, Hungry music

EuropeChats – Why are Trans-European Networks SO Important?

One of the greatest benefits the EU has given to its Member States, beyond the political and economic integration on which it was founded, is the integration of infrastructures. There is no more visible example of this than in transport connectivity. In this episode of EuropeChats, TEPSA Secretary-General and long-time EU insider Jim Cloos sits down with former Director-General for Energy and Transport Matthias Ruete for a discussion on Trans-European Networks. What are they? Where do they come from? And why are they so important? These are some of the questions we will tackle in this episode of EuropeChats.

Matthias Ruete is a longstanding European practitioner. Starting off as a "mildly Eurosceptic professor at an English university", he eventually joined the European Commission in 1986, climbing the ranks until he was appointed to lead the Directorate-General for Energy and Transport (DG TREN) in 2006. He also led the Migration and Home Affairs file at the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME) between 2014 and 2017. Since leaving a role as special adviser to the European Commission, dealing with energy policy among other files, Ruete has worked as one of eleven European Transport Coordinators for the European Rail Traffic Management System.

EuropeChats is is the flagship podcast of TEPSA and it is part of the TEPSA Podcast Channel “Europe Speaks”

Music: Worakls, 22 September 2014, Salzburg, Hungry music

EuropeChats – EU Sanctions Policy

Russia has been waging a full-scale war against Ukraine for almost four months. The European Union has adopted six packages of sanctions against Russia in this period. The first package aimed at dissuading Russia from starting the war, the subsequent packages have tried to convince Russia to stop. More limited sanctions against Russian individuals have actually been in place since 2014, when Russia first invaded Ukraine.

What can sanctions achieve? How do EU sanctions actually work? How are they decided? What role do they play in the EU’s foreign policy? These are some of the questions we will tackle in this episode of EuropeChats.

In this episode, we discuss the role of sanctions in EU policy more generally, and the role they are playing in the European Union's response to Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine. TEPSA Executive Director Mariam Khotenashvili discussed with TEPSA Secretary-General and former Deputy Director General for General and Institutional Policy at the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union Jim Cloos.

EuropeChats is is the flagship podcast of TEPSA and it is part of the TEPSA Podcast Channel “Europe Speaks”

Music: Worakls, 22 September 2014, Salzburg, Hungry music

EU History Explained - The United States and European Integration (Part 2)

In this new episode of #EUHistoryExplained, Giulia Bonacquisti, Project Manager at the Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA), takes a look at the role the United States played in the history of European integration.

In this podcast, we take a look back over decades of European integration, highlighting key moments where US involvement was, or was not, a crucial impetus for further integration, and analysing the changing attitudes of the US government towards the European project over the years. We can distinguish two main phases in the US’ attitude towards European integration: a first phase, from the end of World War II to the end of the 1960s, marked by a strong support; and a second phase, starting from the Nixon administration, where increasing economic and political competition from the European Economic Community resulted in a more ambivalent US attitude. Part 2, deals with the second phase of relations in the second half of the post-war years.

EU History Explained is TEPSA's series exploring the origins of the modern EU. If you have ever wondered how the European Union of today came to be, or what lies behind the talk of politics being shaped in 'Brussels', then this is the series for you!

We would like to thank the Historical Archives of the European Union at the European University Institute for their contribution.

Script: Giulia Bonacquisti
Recording & Editing: Eva Ribera & Hugh Evans
Music: Garrett Bevins - Infinite - Infinite (Wondershare Filmora X)