CER Podcast: Unpacking Europe: Four years of war in Ukraine

On this week’s Unpacking Europe podcast, the CER’s deputy director Ian Bond sat down with Andy Hunder, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, and Victoria Vdovychenko, the joint leader of the Future of Ukraine program at Cambridge University's Centre for Geopolitics, to take stock of the situation on the fourth anniversary of the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. They discussed how Ukraine is managing to hold out during the brutal winter, what the military and economic situation is, and what Ukraine's future prospects are.

On this week’s Unpacking Europe podcast, the CER’s deputy director Ian Bond sat down with Anton Spisak, a senior research fellow at the CER, and Jannike Wachowiak, a researcher at the UK in a Changing Europe, to discuss how things stand in the EU-UK relationship and if 2026 will be the year to reset the reset? They also discussed the prospects for the future of the relationship, including the Labour party’s red lines, its pledges to improve the Trade and Co-operation Agreement and its policies on economic growth and European defence procurement .

On this week’s Unpacking Europe podcast, the CER’s assistant director Elisabetta Cornago sat down with Anton Spisak and John Springford, to discuss the trade escalation and de-escalation between the US and Europe in the past weeks. They also discussed Trump's tariff threats, the EU-US trade deal, the Mercosur and the EU-India agreements and the European economy’s dependency on open global markets.

On this week’s Unpacking Europe podcast, CER senior research fellow Armida van Rij sat down with Sten Rynning, Professor of War Studies and Director of the Danish Institute of Advanced Study at the University of Southern Denmark, to discuss the implications of any coercive US action towards Greenland for the alliance. They also discussed the broader challenges for transatlantic relations and within the alliance, and how Europe is responding to US demands for a Europe-led NATO.

In our latest Centre for European Reform podcast, Kate Mullineux speaks to six of our researchers. They reflect on the EU's past year in different areas, including, the green deal, the global impact of Trump's return to office, the UK-EU reset, Ursula von der Leyen's second term, the gains of the far right and the EU's Middle East strategy. They then look ahead to 2026. 0.55 Elisabetta Cornago on the European green deal 4.11 Elisabetta Cornago on the effect of Trump's return on global climate action 5.24 Ian Bond on the impact of Trump on Europe, Russia and Ukraine 9.10 Ian Bond on Europe's approach to China 13.06 Charles Grant on the UK-EU reset 17.01 Aslak Berg on the EU-UK trade deal 19.50 Charles Grant on what Ursula von der Leyen has achieved so far 24.12 Zselyke Csaky Europe’s efforts to tackle the far right in 2025 26.30 Zselyke Csaky on Trump's hostility to Europe and Hungary’s 2026 election 28.50 Aslak Berg on the EU-US trade deal 34.14 Thomas Maddock on the Israel-Hamas war 36.57 Thomas Maddock on the wider Middle East into 2026 Produced by Kate Mullineux

On this week’s Centre for European Reform podcast, the CER's senior research fellows Armida van Rij and Zselyke Csaky sat down with Catherine E. De Vries, President of the Institute of European Policy Making at Bocconi University in Milan, to discuss why support for the far right is growing, and the implications for democracy in Europe. They discussed why the far right is able to mobilise a base in reaction to voters' dissatisfaction with public services, slow economies and current immigration policies, and how these challenges impact perceptions of democracy.

On this week’s Centre for European Reform podcast, the CER's director Charles Grant sat down with Sophie Pedder, The Economist’s Paris bureau chief, to discuss France and Macron’s unstable government. They discussed the deadlocked French Parliament, the growing popularity of the Rassemblement National and of Jordan Bardella, and whether France’s influence in the European Union is understood domestically and what Macron has achieved in his 8 years as President.

On this week’s Centre for European Reform podcast, CER's Zselyke Csaky sat down with Ben Ansell of Oxford University and John Springford of the CER to discuss the causes of populism's rise in Europe. They discussed the relationship between immigration, trade and populism, and whether moderate politicians would be better off challenging or accommodating voters attracted by populist messaging.

On this week’s Centre for European Reform podcast, deputy director Ian Bond sat down with Donald Jensen of Johns Hopkins University and a former US diplomat and Iuliia Osmolovska, head of the GLOBSEC Kyiv Office to discuss Russian negotiating tactics, Ukraine's negotiating objectives and how Ukraine and its allies can get the best outcome if and when Putin decides to negotiate seriously. They discussed Russian approach to negotiating, preconditions for Ukraine to negotiate successfully with Russia and the dynamics of US-Russia relations.

On this week’s Centre for European Reform podcast, chief economist Sander Tordoir sat down with Zach Meyers, director of research at the Centre on Regulation in Europe and an associate fellow at the CER to talk about tech and tech regulation. They discussed the key priorities of the regulations that have been passed by Europe and why Europe's lagging behind the US and China in its technology sector.