Friends Of Europe Podcasts

In a time when Europe is divided and geopolitical tensions are high, North Macedonia has delivered on its promises. By reaching the Prespa Agreement with Greece and normalising relations with Bulgaria, it has bolstered its efforts to join the EU and NATO. That was the main conclusion that participants reached during Friends of Europe’s ‘Conversation With’ the President of North Macedonia Stevo Pendarovski. President Pendarovski stressed the importance of his country’s new agreements with its neighbours and the citizens’ support for the Prespa Agreement in a recent referendum. He also reminded the audience that his country is making great strides to better reflect its multi-ethnic identity – elevating the Albanian language to co-official language status and receiving a large backing from multi-ethnic political parties. However, President Pendarovski also warned that this is far from over. He wants to see EU accession negotiations start before the end of the year. Despite some EU member states expressing dou

In March 2019, the European Parliament voted in favour of a motion that would phase out a number of single-use plastic items across the EU by 2021. The new law sets a 90% collection target for plastic bottles by 2029, committing Member States to this goal. Furthermore, plastic bottles will have to contain at least 30% recycled content by 2030. The European Parliament, alongside several forward-looking Member States, is taking the first steps towards the establishment of a circular plastics economy. While the focus should remain on reducing the use of plastics, plastic waste should also be accounted for. Replacing single-use plastics with innovative alternatives presents the EU with a significant opportunity, given that 95% of the value resulting from plastics production is lost to the economy, amounting to a loss of somewhere between €70bn and €105bn per year. However, the demand for recycled plastics in Europe today stands at only 6%. Therefore, the EU must develop a more robust recycling framework that enco

What should be in the policy toolbox for the new EU Mandate? Citizens are calling for a different and better Europe more aligned to their needs and their inclusion. Uncertainty and unpredictability appear to be the new order of the day, and are upturning the certainties that policy-makers have held for decades. The EU is in a delicate balance and the choices that it makes now will be decisive in setting its path for years to come. But there is a silver lining. The big message from the 11,000 people we surveyed is that with a shift in focus, Europe can still matter to them. Citizens want a renewed social contract that promotes economic growth, peace, security and sustainability for all – a contract that can be the glue that binds together citizens, government, the private sector and civil society in the belief that Europe matters, and that a strong, united Europe can deliver the right responses to take on the challenges we all face. Citizens want a new ‘Vision for Europe’. Friends of Europe will present

Fabrice Pothier is Senior advisor at Transatlantic Commission on Election Integrity; Senior consulting fellow at Institute of Strategic and International Studies and Chief Strategy Officer at Rasmussen Global

The world energy sector is experiencing major transformations. Energy markets and the climate crisis are important, but governments will drive energy decisions as most investments are government-driven, Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), said at the official 27 November launch of the World Energy Outlook 2018 report – regarded as the “gold standard in energy analysis”. “Our energy destiny rests with governments,” Birol told the Brussels conference hosted by leading think-tank Friends of Europe. Indeed, some $42.3 trillion is needed for energy supply to 2040. Over 70% of the $2 trillion required each year in energy supply investment either comes from “state-directed entities” or receives “a full or partial revenue guarantee”, he explained. The remaining 30% is driven by the market. The IEA World Energy Outlook reveals the latest energy trends and the implications of different pathways on global climate goals, energy security and geopolitics. “We chose electricity as

Access to the world’s shared water resources is inextricably linked to socio-political and economic ‘power dynamics’ that impact hugely on people’s lives and livelihoods. This was one of the key messages of Friends of Europe’s 25 March Policy Insight debate “The ripple effect: water as a tool for peace and sustainable development”. As we prepare for the “changing of the guard” in the EU “we have a topic that’s so essential for world peace that we should keep it high up on the agenda,” said Shada Islam, Friends of Europe’s Director for Europe & Geopolitics. With 40% of armed conflicts involving a resource-based stress factor, Head of Division for Economic and Global Issues at the European External Action Service (EEAS) Dominic Porter highlighted that there is growing acknowledgement that water is more than just a development issue. “There is a gradually increasing acceptance that these subjects need to be treated at the highest political level. They contribute to, if not cause, threats to international peace

When a country’s security is threatened, UN peacekeepers must intervene only after politicians have exhausted all possibilities for conflict prevention. This key conclusion emerged in the first debate in a new series of ‘Lessons from history’, held in Brussels by Friends of Europe on 19 March 2019. Featuring three peace and security experts, focused on UN operations in Africa, the event aimed to better prepare for future crises. “We can learn lessons from UN peacekeeping operations in Africa, home to around half the UN’s work in that field,” said the moderator Jamie Shea, Senior Fellow, Friends of Europe and former Deputy Assistant Secretary General at NATO. He wanted to look at Rwanda and Liberia, respectively considered as a failure and success in UN peacekeeping. What more can the EU and NATO do to support peacekeeping on this continent and beyond? All three panellists agreed that countries and peacekeepers must prioritise the prevention of conflicts, with intervention only a last resort. That is more

hat more can the EU do to stop girls’ education languishing as a footnote and instead be the headline to the conversation about the world’s sustainable development goals? Gender equality and access to quality education are key parts of the UN’s Agenda 2030, but should it really be called ‘Gender 2030?’, asked Friends of Europe at its Educating Girls debate in Brussels on 27 February. Every day 130m girls are not in school and, by any measure, they and the wider world are worse off for it. So why are we failing to remove the barriers in their way and how can we “change this rather nasty paradigm?” said moderator and director for Europe and Geopolitics at Friends of Europe, Shada Islam. “None of the 17 UN goals can be achieved without the active participation of women,” she said. Speakers from the UN, European Commission and specialist NGOs were asked to consider whether the EU should: use girls’ education as a key condition for countries receiving development aid; make it a specific part of accession talks

Investors are increasingly flocking to financial products that offer social as well as monetary returns, a Friends of Europe event has heard. With an estimated $6tn a year required over the next 15 years to achieve the UN’s 2030 sustainable development goals - and the world having reached “peak overseas development aid” - institutional investors and private equity firms are having to get creative, said Shada Islam, Director for Europe and Geopolitics, who moderated the event. The European Investment Bank (EIB) uses ‘Sustainability Awareness Bonds’ to help fund SDG-themed projects, helping to alleviate the biggest risk that private investors face in Africa: state-owned enterprises defaulting on their payments. “The smart, targeted use of public funds to leverage private investment is key,” says Richard Amor, Head of the EIB’s Institutional and Implementation Unit. Private equity firms such as KOIS Invest are using ‘development’ or ‘humanitarian impact bonds’ to help funnel money loans (via local banks) to

The second morning session of the SHAPE ENERGY conference hosted by Friends of Europe on 22 January looked at how to finance research for innovate leadership. To address the current climate crisis and boost Europe’s competitiveness, the EU must use its funding wisely to understand the implications of social sciences and humanities research in its agenda to accelerate action on climate change. Speakers included Patrick Child (European Commission Deputy Director-General for Research and Innovation and Chair of the Mission Innovation Steering Committee), Michaël Gillis (Chief Strategy, Legal, Regulatory & Public Affairs Officer, ENGIE Benelux), Derk Loorbach (Socio-economic Transitions Professor; and Director of the Dutch Research Institute for Transitions (DRIFT), Erasmus University Rotterdam) and Kathleen Van Brempt (Member of the European Parliament, Committee for Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE)).

The first morning session of the SHAPE ENERGY conference hosted by Friends of Europe on 22 January focused primarily on how to facilitate the integration of the social sciences and humanities into energy systems. Speaker included Aziza Akhmouch (Head of the Cities, Urban Policies and Sustainable Development Division, OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities), Simone Abram (Anthropology Professor; and Co-Director in the Durham Energy institute), Renata Mele (Head of Strategy for E-City at ENEL X), Florent Marcellesi (Member of the European Parliament, Committee for Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE)) and Malcolm Smith (Director of Integrated City Planning at ARUP).

The afternoon session of the SHAPE ENERGY conference hosted by Friends of Europe on 22 January featured presentations from a number of H2020 funded projects from across Europe, including PROSEU; INNOPATHS and the EU Energy Poverty Observatory, in which they shared their journeys and key takeaways from their experience dealing with energy-related topics. Following an introduction from Xavier Troussard (European Commissioner Director of Competences at the Joint Research Centre (JRC)), the presentations were led by Giorgia Rambelli of ICLEI Europe, Stefan Bouzarovski of the University of Manchester, Frances Fahy of the National University of Ireland and Andrew Hook of the University of Sussex.

The third session of the Climate and Energy Summit hosted by Friends of Europe on 18 October centred around the search for cost-efficient ways with which to accelerate Europe’s transition to a climate-friendly continent. During this transformative period, strategies aiming to decarbonise EU industries will play a crucial role. Speakers included Erica Hope (Senior Associate at the European Climate Foundation (ECF), François-Régis Mouton (Chair of GasNaturally Steering Committee), Hans Van Steen (European Commission Acting Director for Renewables, Research and Innovation, Energy Efficiency), Ovais Sarmad (Deputy Executive Secretary at the UNFCCC) and Marco Waas (Director of RD&I and Technology at Nouryon).

The second session of the Climate and Energy Summit hosted by Friends of Europe on 18 October looked at the potential of digitalisation to bring about a transformation in the development of clean technologies. To achieve sustainability objectives, energy infrastructures and systems will need to undergo extensive digitalisation. Speakers included Kirsten Dunlop (Chief Executive Officer at EIT Climate-KIC), Luc Goossens (Chief Technology Officer of ENGIE Research at ENGIE), Helen Mountford (Director of Economics at the World Resources Institute (WRI)) and Bernard Salha (Senior Executive Vice President of EDF Group).

The first session of the Climate and Energy Summit hosted by Friends of Europe on 18 October focused on the challenge of maintaining climate diplomacy in a time of division. Establishing international alliances and a shared global strategy on climate action will unify countries in the fight against climate change. Speakers included Daniela Jacob (Director of the Climate Service Center Germany (GERICS)), Melanie Kenderdine (Principal of the Energy Future Initiative), Mauro Petriccione (European Commission Director-General for Climate Action) and Frank Rijsberman (Director-General at the Global Green Growth Institute, (GGGI) Seoul).

The first session of the Security Summit hosted by Friends of Europe on 20 September focused on the role of the European Union within a security landscape currently undergoing significant global change. As new threats require new capabilities, defence strategies may incorporate recent technological developments to adapt to the shifting nature of modern warfare. Speakers included Lowri Evans (European Commission Director-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs); Edvinas Kerza (Lithuanian Vice Minister of Defence); Frank Sauer (Senior Research Fellow and Lecturer at Bundeswehr University Munich) and Mary Wareham (Global Coordinator of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots). The panel discussion was moderated by Jamie Shea, Senior Fellow at Friends of Europe and Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges at NATO (2010-2018).

The second session of the Security Summit hosted by Friends of Europe on 20 September revolved around themes of estrangement within the areas of defence and security and examined how alliances like the EU and NATO go about maintaining the commitments they were designed to uphold. From the Cold War to the present day, dialogue has remained a crucial part of international diplomacy. Speakers included José Alberto de Azeredo Lopes (Portuguese Minister of Defence); Frank Bakke-Jensen (Norwegian Minister of Defence); Benedetta Berti (Head of Policy Planning in the Private Office of the NATO Secretary General) and Jaap de Hoop Scheffer (President of the Dutch Advisory Council on International Affairs, NATO Secretary General (2004-2009) and Friends of Europe Trustee). The panel discussion was moderated by Paul Taylor, Senior Fellow at Friends of Europe and author of ‘Safer together: the United Kingdom and the future of European security and defence.’

As part of the annual Security Summit on 20 September, Friends of Europe hosted a conversation with Julian King, European Commissioner for the Security Union. Among the many subjects explored were cyber security, automatic weaponry, deterrence in the age of technology and – given the understanding that security is not a partisan issue – the need for collective cooperation between the EU and the UK when it comes to addressing the most urgent security challenges facing a post-Brexit world. The conversation was moderated by Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, President of the Dutch Advisory Council on International Affairs and NATO Secretary General (2004-2009) and Trustee of Friends of Europe.

Friends of Europe’s conversation with Věra Jourová, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, took place in Brussels on 26 June 2018. Ms. Jourová discussed her areas of responsibility to explore how the highs and lows of this wide and important brief affect the everyday lives of European citizens in terms of equality and rights. The debate was moderated by Dharmendra Kanani, Director of Strategy at Friends of Europe

The Friends of Europe dinner debate on 5 June 2018 focused on the SDG challenge of reaching the last mile: how can we end poverty in all its forms everywhere? The discussion was moderated by Shada Islam, Director of Europe & Geopolitics at Friends of Europe.