FEPS Talks

“We are discussing rearming, but Europe is a peace project and housing should be the first pillar”. In this episode of FEPS Talks, the Mayor of Athens Haris Doukas speaks with FEPS Policy Analyst François Balate on the housing crisis Europe is facing. Athens is one of the 15 European cities behind the "Mayors for Housing" Alliance, which is in Brussels this week to demand swift action from the EU on housing. On the ground, in cities like Athens, Barcelona and Rome, progressive mayors are already putting in place measures to make housing more accessible to their citizens. However, they cannot do it alone - they are calling for immediate, concrete actions and resources at the European level.

Peace keeping expert Prof. John Karlsrud (head of the international NAVIGATOR research project) comments on the current European discussion regarding the creation and maintanence of peace in Ukraine. He puts forward concrete ideas regarding the composition of peace keeping forces in Ukraine, and clarifies why the United Nations could not have been more instrumental during the last 3 years of war. Prof. Karlsrud is strongly in favour of EU enlargement, including to foster peace in the Western Balkans, and finally he also comments on the broader European institutional architecture, highlighting the significance of old organisations like the OSCE and new ones like the EPC.

British economist and Professor Jonathan Portes (King's College, London) explores how UK—EU relations have developed since the entry of the Labour government in July 2024. He explains that while regret among many is felt in Britain, not a single step of reintegration would be easy in the foreseeable future. There has been talk about some "low hanging fruits” (e.g. student mobility), but this also would require some political courage and concentration. Nevertheless, the EU and the UK share some serious concerns like economic competiveness, on which they could work together. While the UK historically assumed to have a special relationship with the US, now it also is a target for the new trade wars promised by Trump. This might become another factor pushing the EU and UK together into a common effort to uphold multilateralism and a relatively open international trade system.

Matthias Kollatz has been working on public finance in various positions: as Vice-President of the EIB in Luxembourg but then as Financial Senator of Berlin. Here he shares his views about what changes the great financial crisis of 2008-9 brought about, and how important it has been in a post-crisis model to elevate promotional banks into a more central role. He acknowledges some important steps of this financial transition, like the Juncker Plan that was launched in 2014. However, he believes that the German debt break (Schuldenbremse) is a product of a time when the investment needs of the economy were underestimated, and in particular there was no proper estimation of the financial implications of the Green Deal. In order to deliver enough and the right type of climate investment, the EU and its member states need to upgrade their public and promotional banking capacity, but also reform their fiscal rules. Through similar innovations, adequate financing of social needs like housing could also be within reach. It is not the green and social ambitions that should be lowered but the common investment capacities of Europe that need to be upgraded.

This podcast was recorded just a few hours after the polling stations across the EU closed. It features Matthias Ecke, a returning Member of the European Parliament from SPD in Germany. Together with him, Ania Skrzypek, FEPS Director for Research and Training, dives into the campaign's evaluation, analyses the outcomes and considers successful progressive strategies for the future. Jointly, they search for answers on how to halt the march of the right-wing radicals further and safeguard politics from aggression, but even more so, how to bring the attention of the citizens back to the key progressive proposals.

Professor Jonas Pontusson is sharing his views about the need for a “social democratic renewal”. There is no simple recipe for this, and one needs to research political economy as well as sociology for a proper assessment of the dynamics of progressive politics today. But the discussions on the decline of social democracy already started in the early 1990s, after which the rise of the “Third Way” created a feeling of revival for a while. In the long run, a most critical relationship is the one between social democracy and the working class. The assumption that the working class automatically supports socialists was probably never true, but today the relevance of the socail democratic programme is highlighted by the growing inequalities and the rise of the so-called precariat. Sweden offers an example for a more resilient social democratic organisation and representation. Nevertheless, it also applies there that the offer must stress better the economic agenda: improving redistribution and finding ways to strengthen economic democracy. In various countries, new forms of workers' acivism give hope for revitalising the labour movement and social democratic politics as well.

Brexit is not an issue of the past but the present, and it remains with us for the foreseeable future. FEPS Secretary General László Andor discusses its causes and consequences with Professor Catherine Barnard (University of Cambridge, Trinity College). They agree that in 2016 the pro-Brexit side in reality voted against EU membership, but not for a clear vision of the UK outside of the EU, and the UK is still working out what it wants to be as a country and where. The animosity against the EU had developed over time and across political spectrums, not just within the backbenchers of the Conservatives. Without the UK, however, the EU is finding it easier to move towards a Social Union to ensure that welfare states can be made more resilient.

Professor Björn Hacker authored a book about Social Europe for the FEPS Primer Series. Secretary General László Andor interviews him about some key aspects of the book, and especially about the evolution of the paradigm. Key thinkers and political leaders like Willy Brandt, Jacques Delors and Maria Joao Rodrigues are mentioned during the conversation, which also elaborates on why the assessment of EU social policy must pay attention to economic governance at the same time. A key part of this joint reflection focuses on the significance of the 2017 European Pillar of Social Rights, and the conversation ends with discussing further needs and opportunities to develop the EU social dimension.

In this episode of FEPS Talks, Professor Emerita Marguerite Mendell (Concordia University) shares some lessons from her long-term engagement with the development of the social economy in Quebec, but also her contribution to related discussions in Europe and various international organisations. In her view, a number of European countries offer remarkable examples of social economy transitions and experiments, and also at European Union level there have been important initiatives to develop the necessary ecosystem. The question that remains nevertheless is how to assure implementation within member countries. Going beyond a transatlantic comparison, she also mentions recent efforts from African countries. At the end of the conversation with FEPS Secretary General László Andor she explains the connection between her commitment to the social economy and the inspiration stemming from the study of the works of Karl Polanyi.

Teresa Ribera, Third Vice-President of the Spanish Government and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, receives the Progressive Person of the Year award from the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS) this Wednesday, January 24th, 2024. Ribera is an outstanding leader and international policymaker in the fight against climate change who has helped European socialists develop a robust climate agenda over the past decade. FEPS awards the title of Progressive Person of the Year to social democratic policymakers who contributed to the most important progressive policy initiatives of the past year. Previous recipients include Frans Timmermans, Sanna Marin, and Roberto Gualtieri.

Emeritus Professor Jeffrey Henderson explains the key factors behind the outstanding growth performance of the Chinese economy in the past 40 years. He opines that this era of rapid growth seems to be coming to an end, but the systemic rivalry between China and the USA remains a dominant issue in the period ahead. The position Europe takes in regard to this rivalry will be decisive for our global future. The volume and nature of Chinese investment and the methods applied to access natural resources and acquire advanced technology justify a derisking strategy on the side of the European Union. However, it is important to view this global economic competition without racist undertones. While facing competitive pressures, Europe should avoid the blind alley of military confrontation and look for opportunities to learn and build productive cooperation as well.

FEPS Talks invited Israeli political scientist and former minister Yossi Beilin to reflect on the tragic developments in Israel in the past month. Dr Beilin was an active participant of the Oslo peace process in the 1990s and, together with FEPS Secretary General László Andor, he elaborates on the chances of a new peace process after the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas. He compares this shock to that of 9/11 in 2001 suffered by the United States, and highlights the role of leaders who need to find a constructive solution to such complex situations. Dr. Beilin insists that a new peace process is possible, but for that both the United States and the European Union need to develop a different approach than in the past decade. He proposes (with a Palestinian group, led by JD Hiba Husseini) a Palestinian-Israeli Confederation, which will follow the EU model.

Brazil's political landscape fascinates experts across the globe due to its vibrant democracy, complex socio-political landscape, and the country's ability to navigate diverse ideologies and challenges while continuously striving for progress. Brazil's voice and actions have the potential to shape global policies and contribute to finding solutions to pressing global challenges, such as climate change, sustainable development, and changing peace and security architecture. What will the presidency of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva bring? To find out more listen to our new episode on EU-Brazil relations with Maiara Folly, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Plataforma CIPÓ & Andriy Korniychuk, FEPS Policy Analyst on International Affairs.

FEPS Secretary General László Andor speaks with Dr. Steffen Angenendt, Senior Fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin. Dr. Angenendt has been involved in migration research and debates in the last three decades and offers an overview of the evolution of policies in German and European context. The 2015 migration crisis is a major milestone which gave rise to Willkommenskultur in Germany but also put more light on the death of thousands of migrants trying to arrive to the EU in difficult circumstances. The two speakers assess the efforts of the EU which has been trying to complete a „migration pact” and the reasons for various European governments taking diverse positions. Dr. Angenendt points to some critical measures that could help improve the practice of managing migration through EU borders and underlines the importance of dialogue between European and African experts.

In Barcelona, FEPS Secretary General, László Andor, talks with Professor Gösta Esping-Andersen, whose name is familiar to all who have studied sociology or political economy in the last 30 years. They explore the connection between the role of families in reproduction, the quest for gender equality, and rising social inequalities. Professor Esping-Andersen shares his view about the resilience of welfare states against crises such as the pandemic but also the current war in Ukraine, and he does not hide his opinion on the migration policy of the Danish government. The link between social democratic identity and the universalist welfare state appears as a key part of the conversation, which ends with outlining a potential role for the European Union in support of the well-being of children.

Anna Diamantopoulou, President of DIKTIO, former minister in Greece and former EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, engages in a talk with David Rinaldi, FEPS Director of Studies and Policy, to reflect on the ongoing and upcoming societal transformations that require innovation and ambition on welfare policy. The exchange looks at the contribution of the Commission's ‘High-Level Group on the Future of Social Protection in the EU and of the Welfare State in the EU Members' which President Diamantopoulou chaired. What are the implications of moving towards a life-course perspective? What are the political lines around care and family policy that will shape the future of this policy field? How to finance welfare if stagflation endures?

Benedicta Lasi, Secretary General of Socialist International engages in a lively debate with Ania Skrzypek, FEPS Director for Research and Training, about the political ambition that inspired the opening of the new chapter of the SI. She shares insights regarding the strategy that will make this international organisation a powerhouse able to rise to the contemporary global challenge and support the cooperation of the sister parties worldwide.

The coming decades will be characterised by two significant technology challenges: climate change mitigation and digitalisation. The technological transition associated with climate change follows clear and well-defined goals. In contrast, digitalisation does not pursue a clear objective and is commonly understood as a self-driving process of technological progress. During this FEPS Talk, Dr Kerstin Hötte, University of Oxford and the Alan Turing Institute and Gerard Oosterwijk, FEPS digital policy analyst, discuss the positive and negative interactions across processes of technological advances involved in both climate change mitigation and digitalisation. They touch on green data spaces as an opportunity to create more transparency on the climate impact and the action needed on different levels, but also report on publicly listed companies and promote sustainable investment.

Jérôme Creel, Director for Research at Sciences Po, OFCE and David Rinaldi, FEPS Director of Studies and Policies, discuss and elaborate on the policy study: Making Next-Generation EU a permanent tool.

Quick-commerce is a service aimed at achieving superfast delivery from ‘dark stores' to the consumer. And recently, they have boomed! To learn more about these developments, Gerard Oosterwijk, Digital Policy Analyst for FEPS, interviews Rachel Verdin, Research fellow of the University of Sussex Business School. She and a team of researchers investigated three countries (Germany, Spain and the UK), where they unveiled the health conditions of the employees in the sector, their job security and social rights. These firms use worker-intensive methods to deliver impressive convenience to your door. But who pays the price? She discovered that since this business is hard to sustain financially, and that the workers and riders bear the actual costs. This sector profits from advances in digital technology, weak labour markets, and abundant investment capital. Together they discuss to what extent this sector overlaps with, and differs from, the broader gig and platform economy, what it means for EU policy-making and its enforcement, and what we can expect for the future, as the venture capital that has funded unsustainably low delivery prices and loss-making firms is drying up.

Professor René Repasi, Member of the European Parliament since 2022, reflects together with Dr László Andor, FEPS Secretary General, on how the so-called Qatargate has undermined citizens' trust in the European Institutions. Both welcome the quick and strong actions taken by the S&D group facing this case of corruption and illegitimate influence. Repasi proposes a plan to avoid such cases of “bad apples” based on improving transparency, accountability, and media attention, and recalls the EP debate of NGOs and lobbies' regulation. In the second part of the conversation, Repasi and Andor take stock of the legislative work of the German MEP since he took office, outlining his work in various committees and pointing to his main parliamentary battles. The discussion expands to thorny issues like EU Strategic Autonomy, and the speakers do not hide their shared enthusiasm for the establishment of common European unemployment insurance.

In this exciting episode, Tarik Aobu-Chadi, Associate Professor at the Nuffield College, Oxford engages in a conversation with Ania Skrzypek, FEPS Director for Research and Training about the reasons for the electoral decline of social democracy and the growing political fragmentation. He shares insights into his new research, which shows that though the radical right has risen that has been no straightforward transfer of the center-left electorate behind.

On the occasion of international women's day, this podcast takes a closer look at the recent policy developments on the EU gender equality agenda. Taking stock of the persisting barriers in the way of gender equality and women's rights, Laeticia Thissen – FEPS Policy Analyst on Gender Equality – engages in conversation with Swedish MEPs Evin Incir. Whilst identifying the remarkable set of landmark breakthroughs on major EU policies for gender equality, the discussion also reveals that the road towards a genuine “Union of Equality” is still a rocky one. Amongst the current issues addressed, the podcast touches upon internal policy developments such as the Commission's directive proposal on combatting violence against women and domestic violence but also applies a feminist lens to external affairs such as the situation of women in Iran.

Bohdan Ferens, founder of the SD Platform of Ukraine answers questions by László Andor, FEPS Secretary General, about the shock of the invasion in February 2022, and the dynamics of war that has devastated Ukraine by triggering large-scale emigration and resulted in a destruction of productive assets, physical infrastructure, and natural environment alike. They assess the development of EU—Ukraine relations, the various forms of solidarity but also the deficits in support. No illusions are created about the possibilities of the next phase of the war, but hope is expressed that the joint effort to repel the Russian aggression opens a new chapter not only in the history of Ukraine but also that of the European integration.

Jamila Madeira, MP and International Secretary of PS in Portugal shares with Ania Skrzypek, FEPS Director for Research and Training the key rules that determine Portuguese Socialists' Governmental Strategy. Integrity, trustworthiness, the ability to learn from mistakes, and determination, laid fundaments to a new kind of politics. It was needed to modernize the country, lift people from poverty and safeguard a more prosperous, European future for everyone.

Professor Gerhard Stahl, member of FEPS Scientific Council, and Dr László Andor, FEPS Secretary General, talk in this episode of FEPS Talks about the latest book of Stahl, which is focusing on China (published in German). After taking stock of the developments of recent years, they analyse the future scenarios of EU-China relationship. They explore specificities of Chinese economic and social development, and expand to various other aspects of China's relations with the rest of the world: technology and investment policies, Covid-19 effects, and regional security. While looking for the room for a genuine European strategy, the discussants look into two critical questions in this conversation: why Russia's international behaviour cannot be compared to the Chinese, and what role the United States is playing in navigating the developments between cooperation and confrontation.

Ana Sofia Fernandez, President of the Portuguese Platform for Women's Rights, and Laeticia Thissen, FEPS Policy Analyst for Gender Equality, exchange on the gendered nature of economic policy and governance mechanisms at EU level. How do budgets mirror political priorities? What is their influence in perpetuating or redressing persisting gender gaps? How do they discriminate by building on gendered assumptions about society and the economy? How can they be used as a powerful tool in transforming our societies? To what extent are gender budgeting tools applied in the recovery plans? These are some of the points touched upon as the EU is faced by crises after crises affecting women in acutely singular ways.

Professor Rob Manwaring, Flinders University in Adelaide and Dr Ania Skrzypek, FEPS Director for Research and Training connect to discuss the recent unprecedented victory of Antony Albanese Australian Labor Party and inspiration that it may provide for sister parties across the globe. On 21st May 2022 Australian Labor Party led by Anthony Albanese noted an unprecedented victory, forming then a government and preventing 4th term of the Liberal Party. What led to that success, what is on the agenda and which challenges ALP shares with the other sister parties across the globe, are the topics in the focus of the conversation.

Julia von Blumenthal, President of the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder) and FEPS Secretary General László Andor discuss the effects of the Russia—Ukraine war on universities, especially in the case of the institution she leads which plays a special role in German -- Eastern European relations. They highlight the humanitarian as well as the educational aspects of Viadrina's response to the shock of Russian aggression, and explore the possibilities of opening a new chapter in the academic relations between Germany and Ukraine. They find it hard to be optimistic regarding the end of the war in Ukraine or the normalisation of cultural relations with the Russian-speaking world.

Professor Arne Westad, Yale University, is interviewed by Aline Burni, FEPS Policy Analyst for International Relations, on the relations between Russia and China in the context of the war in Ukraine. Professor Westad is an expert on modern international and global history and specialised in the history of eastern Asia since the 18th Century. In the episode, he explains the developments of China-Russia relations, raising awareness to the fact it is much more complex than often understood. In the interview, Professor Westad also touches upon China's interests in this war – what it has to win and, mostly, lose, and how to interpret reactions in the Global South. Finally, he highlights that this is a crucial moment for progressives to influence future EU relations with China and Russia and points to some aspects to be considered, notably the challenge to gain more independence from China.

Prof Dr Jens Südekum (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf) and Dr László Andor, FEPS Secretary General, assess the ongoing debate on the sanctions on Russia in Germany and in the rest of Europe. They discuss what could be the consequences of harder decisions related to the oil and gas imports from Russia and how the current situation can affect the EU competitiveness and economic growth potential. Prof Südekum highlights the need for a more autonomous Europe in terms of defence as well as energy. The speakers also discuss the different scenarios this war can leave behind for Europe: continuing economic warfare with Russia, leading the reconstruction of Ukraine, and a reinforced economic architecture within the European Union.

In order to explore the different care inequalities that directly feed into gender imbalances across all spheres of life, Labour MP for Birmingham and Shadow Minister Jess Philips is interviewed by Laeticia Thissen (FEPS Policy Analyst for Gender Equality). Building on the realities made evident by the EU Care Atlas launched by FEPS and the Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung and the complex relationship between motherhood and equality, this podcast puts the finger on how care deficits permeates into various other gender gaps, including politics, and how female politicians have a central role in changing conventional ways of doing politics and in shifting the priorities towards a care-oriented society.