This edition of the #fepstalks features Samantha Smith, director of the Just Transition Centre that has been established by the International Trade Union Confederation, in conversation with Andreas Dimmelmeier, FEPS policy analyst on climate and environment. Samantha talks about the importance of coming up with and implementing just transition plans that feature contributions from social partners and outlines positive examples including in South Africa, Spain and Germany. The podcast also touche...
Oct 30, 2021•19 min•Ep 104•Transcript available on Metacast Will the EU be successful in defending democracy and rule of law? Will the conditionality mechanism be used for the first time? Is Poland to be used to make an example? Will there be a Polexit? What about Polish protesters? – these and other fundamental questions remain at the focus of this episode of the FEPS Talks, which feature This Reuten, S&D Member of the European Parliament, and Ania Skrzypek, FEPS Director of Research and Training. Together they try to explain why the last ruling of the ...
Oct 23, 2021•21 min•Ep 103•Transcript available on Metacast Guy Ryder, ILO Director General, and László Andor, FEPS Secretary General analyse in this episode the main transformative challenges in the world of work: new technology, climate change, digitalisation and aging population. The International Labour Organisation proposed innovative solutions in three different fields: people and their capacities (social protection, lifelong learning), institutions of work (labour regulations/law) and jobs of the future (green economy, care economy etc.). The two ...
Oct 08, 2021•29 min•Ep 102•Transcript available on Metacast September 28th marks the International Safe Abortion Day. It therefore presents an opportune moment to recall how a fair and safe access to abortion constitutes a crucial condition for the respect of women’s fundamental rights and to eliminate gender discrimination. What is the importance of international solidarity for gender justice? How do we end the stigma and discrimination towards abortion? How do we ensure access to safe and affordable abortion healthcare services? How did the Covid-19 pa...
Sep 27, 2021•32 min•Ep 101•Transcript available on Metacast Dr. Hannes Swoboda, former S&D group leader in the European Parliament, and current President of the International Institute for Peace, is our special guest in the #100 FEPS Talks episode. In a conversation with Dr László Andor, FEPS Secretary General, he shares his view about the erosion and current reconstruction of social democracy, pointing to examples of revitalisation like Norway or (according to the latest polls) Germany. Swoboda and Andor also reflect on the role of the progressives in t...
Sep 23, 2021•26 min•Ep 100•Transcript available on Metacast Matt Duss, Foreign Policy Advisor to US Senator Bernie Sanders, joins Vassilis Ntousas, Senior International Relations Policy Advisor at FEPS, for an episode focusing on the Afghanistan withdrawal, the emerging US foreign policy doctrine under president Biden, the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and what recent developments mean for ‘the West’ and the international liberal order, and the future of transatlantic cooperation after these momentous events.
Sep 16, 2021•27 min•Ep 99•Transcript available on Metacast Professor Thorsten Schulten, WSI Institute of Economic and Social Research at the Hans Blöcker Stiftung with Dr. David Rinaldi, FEPS Director of Studies and Policy The episode starts with a look at the consequences of the pandemic for employment and a reflection on the impact it has on wages and labour shortages. Prof. Schulten then comments on the changing attitude of national and European politics toward employment and wages. The Commission’s proposal on adequate minimum wages is discussed; de...
Sep 10, 2021•38 min•Ep 98•Transcript available on Metacast Following the recent resignation of the Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, professor Jenny Andersson from Science Po and Uppsala University and dr Ania Skrzypek, FEPS Director of Research and Training discuss the developments in Sweden in the context of the situation of the centre-left in Europe. Tune in to hear analysis of the last decade of the political history of Sweden and find out what the likely scenarios are when it comes to search for a new leadership and new way forward ahead of the general...
Aug 27, 2021•30 min•Ep 97•Transcript available on Metacast “My body, my choice” was coined as a feminist struggle setting the tone of this podcast addressing women and girls’ sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Women’s equal access to labour and their full control over their own bodies namely constitute the two core preconditions for women’s full emancipation. In fact, a woman’s power to control her own body is linked to how much control she has in other spheres of her life. It also lies in the European Union’s hands to demonstrate leadership ...
Aug 19, 2021•27 min•Ep 96•Transcript available on Metacast Professor Jonathan Kirshner (Boston College) and Dr László Andor, FEPS Secretary General, mark in this podcast episode the 50th anniversary of the “Nixon shock”, the day when the convertibility of the US dollar to gold was suddenly ended. They discuss how in the post-war decades great imbalances developed in the global financial system which eventually brought the Bretton Woods currency arrangements to an end. This regime change is considered as a critical step by many economic historians which ...
Aug 12, 2021•36 min•Ep 95•Transcript available on Metacast Dr. Cinzia Alcidi, Director of Research and Head of the Economic Policy Unit at CEPS and Dr. David Rinaldi, FEPS Director of Studies and Policy comment on the outcomes of CEPS Task Force on New Industrial Policy and its relation with the need to boost a job-rich recovery. The conversation insists on the need to link the European industrial policy to job quality, skills and regional cohesion. In this episode, Dr Alcidi also speaks about SURE and the need to potentiate this instrument for the last...
Aug 06, 2021•27 min•Ep 94•Transcript available on Metacast For a more progressive sports model The day after the final of the UEFA European Championship 2021, Jean-Michel de Waele, Professor of Political Sciences at the ULB, joins François Balate, Head of Office of FEPS President, to analyse what is the relationship between sports, more specifically football, and politics. They reach the conclusion that a more progressive sports model is needed but they also comment on the results of the European Championship, the reactions of politicians in social medi...
Jul 29, 2021•30 min•Ep 93•Transcript available on Metacast Special episode with Gaute Børstad Skjervø, vice-president of AUF, Utøya attacks survivor and member of the remembrance committee
Jul 22, 2021•17 min•Ep 92•Transcript available on Metacast Diederik Samsom, Head of Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans, in charge of the European Green Deal, talks with Saïd El Khadraoui, FEPS Special Adviser on the Green Deal, just one day after the adoption of the Fit for 55-package by the European Commission. Diederik Samsom emphasises the importance of the European Climate Law that made the EU’s commitment to make its economy climate-neutral by 2050 and reduce its emissions by 55% by 2030 compared to 1990, legally binding. The Fit ...
Jul 15, 2021•34 min•Ep 91•Transcript available on Metacast Andrew Small, senior transatlantic fellow with GMF's Asia Program, joins Vassilis Ntousas, Senior International Relations Policy Advisor at FEPS, for an episode focusing on China and the evolving dynamics in the transatlantic outlook vis-à-vis Beijing
Jul 09, 2021•34 min•Ep 90•Transcript available on Metacast Contributing to the LGBTIQ Pride Month leading up to the international pride day (June 28th), this FEPS Talks edition features Flora Bolter (political scientist, activist and co-director of the LGBT+ observatory of the Fondation Jean-Jaurès) who engages in a conversation with Laeticia Thissen (FEPS Gender Equality Policy Analyst). After seeking to untangle the complexity of the multiple realities behind the acronym together with its historic and societal evolution, this podcast offers a glimpse ...
Jun 28, 2021•31 min•Ep 89•Transcript available on Metacast Professor Raymond Torres, Director for Macroeconomy and International Analysis of think tank Funcas, discusses with Dr László Andor, FEPS Secretary General, the need for reinforcing economic governance and fiscal capacity in the European Union to ensure that we emerge stronger from the Covid-19 recession. This would require turning the tools of economic crisis response into permanent instruments, also to avoid the type of economic and social polarisation, including between North and South, which...
Jun 24, 2021•23 min•Ep 88•Transcript available on Metacast In this very special episode, aired 5 years since the assassination, we commemorate Jo Cox who was an extraordinary person, a passionate activist, and an incredibly talented politician of the Labour Party. In a conversation with Baroness Jan Royall (Principal of Somerville College in Oxford) Ania Skrzypek (FEPS Director for Research and Training) discusses the meaning of “we have more in common than that what divides us”. Moreover, they look at Cox’ legacy and how the memory of it should be cult...
Jun 16, 2021•23 min•Ep 87•Transcript available on Metacast Adnan Tabatabai, CEO of CARPO, joins Vassilis Ntousas, Senior International Relations Policy Advisor at FEPS, for an episode exploring the dynamics and main players of the upcoming presidential election in Iran, the legacy of outgoing president Hassan Rouhani, and the state of play concerning the ongoing nuclear talks over the future of the JCPOA
Jun 11, 2021•30 min•Ep 86•Transcript available on Metacast S&D MEP and Rapporteur Christel Schaldemose and Justin Nogarede, FEPS Digital Policy Analist The crucial set of rules for online services dates from 2000. Back then, many online services were merely providing tools for users to access the web and build their own websites. And online business models were still unclear. Therefore, the EU allowed experimentation and adopted rules that largely shielded services from liability for content shared by their users. Fast forward 20 years and things are ra...
Jun 02, 2021•29 min•Ep 85•Transcript available on Metacast What’s next in the fields of cohesion, convergence and enlargement? Dr Mario Holzner, executive director of the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw), discusses with Dr László Andor, FEPS Secretary General, the latest study of the institute: “Avoiding the specialisation trap and embracing megatrends: A new growth model in EU-CEE”. The study was commissioned by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES). They analyse what are the main challenges that the CEE region is facing like an ...
May 28, 2021•28 min•Ep 84•Transcript available on Metacast Professor Bea Cantillon and Dr David Rinaldi exchange on the massive social consequences of the pandemic and how that requires stepping up the ambitions for a more social Europe. They reflect on the alarming inequalities that are affecting vulnerable groups in Europe and conclude that the political momentum witnessed at the Porto Summit must be transformed into tangible changes of the policy mix so that social outcomes become more central in European and national policy making.
May 21, 2021•29 min•Ep 83•Transcript available on Metacast Pierre-Emmanuel Guigo, Associate Professor Paris-Est Créteil, and László Andor, Secretary General of FEPS, analyse the figure of François Mitterrand on the 40th anniversary of his first electoral victory. They discuss how the energy of the 1968 movement contributed to a more progressive France and to the renovation of Parti Socialiste putting the focus on new topics like self-management, climate change and gender equality. All these changes contributed to Mitterrand’s victory one decade later. P...
May 10, 2021•23 min•Ep 82•Transcript available on Metacast Just a few moments ahead of the Social Summit in Porto and long-awaited launch of the Conference of the Future of Europe, Ana Paula Zacarias, State Secretary for Europe in Portugal shares in a conversation with Dr. Ania Skrzypek, FEPS Director for Research and Training the insights of the Presidency’s strategy on how to get things done. Being humble, respecting and listening to others, while remaining constructive and setting the bar of ambition high - is how to make this super-weekend not about...
May 06, 2021•22 min•Ep 81•Transcript available on Metacast Czech Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Jana Maláčová, and FEPS Secretary General László Andor exchange views about their expectations concerning the forthcoming Social Summit in Porto. They look back and assess the effectiveness of the social policy measures implemented by the Czech government during the COVID 19 pandemic: the so-called “antivirus programme”, financed in part by the EU, and the various subsidies to families, triggered by the closure of schools and kindergartens during the ...
Apr 29, 2021•25 min•Ep 80•Transcript available on Metacast Professor Stephany Griffith-Jones, IPD Columbia University, and Dr David Rinaldi, FEPS Director of Studies and Policy, exchange on the need of investment to deliver on structural transformation and the recovery. Professor Griffith-Jones reflects on the role of the European Investment Bank as well as on that of national development banks. A specific call is made to complete the transformation of the EIB into a really climate friendly bank able to accelerate the development of sustainable finance....
Apr 21, 2021•27 min•Ep 79•Transcript available on Metacast Ambassador Derek Mitchell, President of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and former US Ambassador to Myanmar, joins Vassilis Ntousas, Senior International Relations Policy Advisor at FEPS, for an episode exploring the recent coup in Myanmar, its geopolitical underpinnings and repercussions and the links between what is happening in the country and the democratic backsliding observed elsewhere in the region and the world.
Apr 15, 2021•29 min•Ep 78•Transcript available on Metacast Katerina Barley, Vice-President of the EP and a prominent progressive fighter for democracy, rule of law and equal rights is the special guest of this #FEPSTalks, discussing with Ania Skrzypek, FEPS Director for Research and Training what can be expected in the months to come following: introduction of conditionality mechanism and the Commission Annual Report on Human Rights, the EP actions in solidarity with women protesting in Poland and LGBTQI community, as also in the aftermath of political ...
Apr 08, 2021•29 min•Ep 77•Transcript available on Metacast This podcast focuses on a decision affecting thousands of women’s lives. More precisely, the Turkish government announced its withdrawal from the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combatting violence against women and domestic violence, commonly known as the “Istanbul Convention”. In this context, Aslihan Tekin (EU Representative of the European Women’s Lobby Coordination for Turkey and Women’s Coalition Turkey) exchanges with Laeticia Thissen (FEPS Gender Equality Policy Advisor) t...
Apr 02, 2021•33 min•Ep 76•Transcript available on Metacast Jacinda Ardern has become a symbol of progressive renewal; a Prime Minister able to unite the country in toughest times; and a leader, whom people admire and feel understood by. But what was the Party that she leads path to power? What made it note a landslide victory last year? What challenges does it face today? Find out – tuning in to a unique conversation between Professor Grant Duncan of Massey University in Auckland and Dr. Ania Skrzypek, FEPS Director for Research and Training
Mar 29, 2021•33 min•Ep 75•Transcript available on Metacast 
