EU Unpacked: A podcast from FleishmanHillard hosted by Jim Brunsden

Jim is joined by very special guest Lutz Güllner, Head of Strategic Communications at the EU's European External Action Service, to discuss disinformation challenges in a big election year, and how breakthroughs in Artificial Intelligence alter this threat.  Along with Jim's AI-expert colleague Pete Wilson, Lutz kindly sets out his perspectives from the frontline of the EU's efforts to tackle coordinated disinformation campaigns.   It is a challenge that requires action across a wide perimeter of the EU's policymaking remit, stretching from sanctions policy, to societal education, to the responsibilities of tech platforms; as well as to the EEAS's own EUvsDisinfo website, which we guarantee is utterly unlike any other EU online material you have ever read.   All this is very much in focus amid recent high-profile deepfakes and the EU's own imminent encounter with the voters: the 6-9 June European Elections, the largest multi-national democratic exercise in the world.   In this new era, to protect our democracy, the integrity of elections needs to be able to withstand almost perfect imitation of reality.  Follow us on social and find out about new episodes   X @FleishmanEU  LinkedIn @FleishmanHillard EU  Instagram @FleishmanHillardEU 

FH Brussels energy supremo Max Miccinilli is back from COP28 and ready to give his verdict on the results of 2023's major piece of climate summitry.

Change is in the air on our office pod: guest host Jane and Jim take a ride on the five-yearly rollercoaster of European Parliament elections and institutional renewal that lies ahead in 2024. 

Having conquered misleading green claims, Jim and returning guest star Aoife lift up the bonnet on what EU consumers are buying and ask: how far can EU ecodesign rules determine the inner workings of stuff sold on the single market?

Is your shower gel “nature's friend?”  Jim and Aoife explore EU efforts to stamp out misleading claims on the products we buy

Jim and special guest star Gavan explore why EU policymakers are craving cobalt, gobbling up gallium and lusting after lithium. 

Jim and his colleague Ana Costov from the FH Brussels climate and energy team ask: how far should Europe pin its climate hopes on carbon removals?

Jim and his colleague Niamh Griffin from the FH Brussels Brexit team ask an existential question: what is the UK-EU relationship nowadays?

Jim and FH Brussels healthcare supremo Emma Cracknell discuss why the EU has managed to create an internal market for paperclips but not for life-changing treatments

Jim, special guest Philip Stafford of the FT, and colleagues from FH explore how the crypto industry sparks policymaker ambition and trepidation in Brussels. The crypto industry in recent months has found itself wrapped up in everything from debates over EU sanctions policy to concerns about climate change and financial stability. A sector that has expanded enormously in the blink of an eye, evolved far beyond its original purpose and that at times has even appeared to threaten the role of central banks was always going to preoccupy minds in Brussels. But the debate over crypto is far from one sided, with ministers just as keen to extol the potential of their capitals as hubs for financial innovation as they are concerned about setting clear rules of the road. In part 1 of the podcast, Jim and Phil explore how the growth of crypto came to increasingly preoccupy Brussels from multiple standpoints, including crucial questions of consumer protection. Jim and Phil sketch out how the sector involved from Bitcoin to Dogecoin and DeFi, and explain it all along the way. In part 2, Jim and colleagues Juliette Le Drogou and Alex Tompkins delve into what form the EU's policy response is taking, ranging from the landmark MiCA legislation to the possible creation of a Digital Euro. The episode demystifies often jargon-heavy debates about a sector that is proving to be as voyage of discovery for traders and regulators alike.

Jim, special guest Philip Stafford of the FT, and colleagues from FH explore how the crypto industry sparks policymaker ambition and trepidation in Brussels. The crypto industry in recent months has found itself wrapped up in everything from debates over EU sanctions policy to concerns about climate change and financial stability. A sector that has expanded enormously in the blink of an eye, evolved far beyond its original purpose and that at times has even appeared to threaten the role of central banks was always going to preoccupy minds in Brussels. But the debate over crypto is far from one sided, with ministers just as keen to extol the potential of their capitals as hubs for financial innovation as they are concerned about setting clear rules of the road. In part 1 of the podcast, Jim and Phil explore how the growth of crypto came to increasingly preoccupy Brussels from multiple standpoints, including crucial questions of consumer protection. Jim and Phil sketch out how the sector involved from Bitcoin to Dogecoin and DeFi, and explain it all along the way. In part 2, Jim and colleagues Juliette Le Drogou and Alex Tompkins delve into what form the EU's policy response is taking, ranging from the landmark MiCA legislation to the possible creation of a Digital Euro. The episode demystifies often jargon-heavy debates about a sector that is proving to be as voyage of discovery for traders and regulators alike.

Jim and Jane Gimber, FH Brussels' head of sustainability, discuss where the EU is going to find the money to finance its energy transition and climate ambitions. The EU has set out to be a world leader in sustainable finance, creating a system of rules to try and identify what is green and what is not, and to make companies disclose how well they measure up. Jim and Jane explore how the EU managed the rare feat of getting a word as clunky as “taxonomy” into popular usage. They also tackle the big question in sustainable finance: how can an agenda that is about saving the planet provoke so much controversy? Some national governments and MEPs are having a hard time digesting the European Commission's insistence that gas and nuclear energy can point the way to a greener future; plans to extend the concept of sustainable finance into the realm of social justice risk throwing up more conundrums. The sustainable finance agenda has also taken on new dimensions following Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine. The energy transition is no longer purely about saving the planet from devastation, but also about saving Europe from dangerous dependencies on Russian fossil fuels. Jim and Jane's discussion zeroes in on the difficult choice now facing the EU: does it want its taxonomy system to simply set the gold standard for what is green, or to plot a route towards a greener future – a journey that involves gas and nuclear along the way. Follow us on social and find out about new episodes: Twitter @FleishmanEU LinkedIn FleishmanHillard EU Instagram FleishmanHillardEU

Russian's assault on Ukraine horrifies the world. Alongside its sanctions response, Brussels is already rethinking policy. Jim and guests Cillian Totterdell and Amelie Snijders look at what Russia's invasion and its horrific aftermath mean for EU policymaking, taking energy security as a case study. Cillian and Amelie explain what policy options the EU has on energy security, after Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament that the issue was a top priority in this new reality we are living in. The team explores how reducing energy dependency on Russia can fit with the EU's broader green ambitions, and also how that green agenda might now need to change. Follow us on social and find out about new episodes: Twitter @FleishmanEU LinkedIn FleishmanHillard EU Instagram FleishmanHillardEU

Jim and guest Joss Squires discuss the EU's burgeoning interest in how we pay for things, and why European sovereignty is coming to a supermarket check-out near you. In our politics catch-up, Blandine Ronsse look at what happens when a French EU presidency meets a French presidential election.