Centre for European Reform Centre for European Reform

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