Ask CER - Episode 1: EU integration, democratic backsliding & UK financial services regulation

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

In our latest Centre for European Reform podcast, Camille Grand, Distinguished Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations and Luigi Scazzieri, Senior Research Fellow at the CER, speak to podcast host Octavia Hughes about the challenges of European defence production. They examine the challenges Europeans have faced in ramping up defence production after Russia's invasion, and examine the roles of NATO, the EU and smaller groups of counties. Music by Edward Hipkins Produced by Octavia Hughes

In our latest Centre for European Reform podcast, Deputy Director Ian Bond speaks to Philippe Le Corre, Senior Fellow at the Asia Society's Centre for China Analysis, Helena Legarda, Lead Analyst at the Mercator Institute for China Studies, and Christina Keßler, Clara Marina O'Donnell Fellow 2023-24. They provide some background on Taiwan's recent elections before examining reactions to the result from China, the US and Europe. They then debate what Europe's role should be in the Taiwan Strait. Music by Edward Hipkins Produced by Octavia Hughes

In our latest Centre for European Reform podcast, podcast host Octavia Hughes speaks to eight of our researchers. They reflect on the EU's past year from different perspectives, including climate action; support for Ukraine; UK-EU relations; and the possibility of enlargement and reform. They then look ahead to 2024. 00:41 Elisabetta Cornago on energy and climate policy 11:57 Charles Grant on UK-EU relations 20:07 Luigi Scazzieri on defence and security policy 27:03 Zach Meyer and Sander Tordoir on AI and industrial policy 39:53 Ian Bond on Ukraine 47:00 Christina Keßler on German security policy 50:27 Camino Mortera-Martinez on enlargement, rule of law and reform Music by Edward Hipkins Produced by Octavia Hughes

In this week's Centre for European Reform podcast Charles Grant, director at the CER, and Camino Mortera-Martinez, head of the CER's Brussels office, join senior research fellow Luigi Scazzieri to discuss the prospects for EU enlargement and institutional reform. Produced by Octavia Hughes Music by Edward Hipkins

In this week's Centre for European Reform podcast Sander Tordoir, senior economist at the CER, and Caroline de Gruyter, author and columnist for the leading Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad, join podcast host, Octavia Hughes, to discuss the outcome of the Dutch general election and what the surge of Geert Wilders’ far-right means for the EU. Caroline explains how the adoption of more extreme policies by centre-right parties across Europe has strengthened far-right parties like the Netherlands' Party for Freedom. Sander sets out scenarios for the coalition negotiations and the odds of Wilders becoming Dutch prime minister. Produced by Octavia Hughes Music by Edward Hipkins