Friends Of Europe Podcasts

Africa’s future largely hangs on whether it can deal with its massive infrastructure deficit. The good news: digital infrastructure has made great progress, with telecommunications coverage expanding at a fast pace across both low- and middle-income countries. The bad: only 35% of the population has access to electricity, with a huge urban-rural divide. Both the EU and Japan recognise that massive and immediate investment in infrastructure in Africa is the only way to create the backbone needed to foster agricultural and industrial development, create jobs and promote sustainable growth; and linking up their multi-faceted development actions could bring huge benefits.

This event is part of Friends of Europe’s Health and Wellbeing programme, which focuses on how the obstacles of vested interests and short-term political thinking can be overcome in the difficult transition to new healthcare models and systems – and how these new systems can be financed. Speakers included Cristian-Silviu Bușoi (Member of the European Parliament Committee on Industry, Research and Energy), Francesca Colombo (Head of the OECD Health Division), Jean Lang (Associate Vice President at Sanofi Pasteur Research & Development) and Charles Price (Head of AMR at the Unit for Crisis management and preparedness in health in the European Commission DGl for Health and Food Safety)

The final session of Friends of Europe's annual Balkans Summit focused on regional actions: democracy, peace and stability as well economic development, integration and interconnectivity in the Western Balkans do not just depend on the policies and actions of national governments but also on the role of regional, municipal and city authorities.

The second session of Friends of Europe's annual Balkans Summit addressed the business opportunities of the Western Balkans. Growth and employment have increased especially in countries that have made significant progress in economic reforms and improved the environment for domestic and foreign investments.

The first session of Friends of Europe's annual Balkans Summit focused on peace, democracy and reconciliation in the region. While their membership of the European Union is progressing slowly, countries in the Western Balkans are moving swiftly up the European agenda.

The second session of Friends of Europe's Security Summit 2017 wanted to answer the following questions: Would clear time frames by the EU or NATO for European governments' catch-up efforts help or hinder the momentum towards improved capabilities? How do states’ defence spending policies impact their abilities to prepare for war, and what new threats must governments take into consideration?

The second session of Friends of Europe's Security Summit 2017 wanted to tackle the following questions: Are NATO, the US and the EU on the same wavelength on the policies needed to tackle Daesh-related terrorism while stabilising civil societies in the Arab world? The deterioration in both Europe's and America's relations with Turkey is an unwelcome development in terms of Middle Eastern security efforts. What policy solutions are available to NATO, the EU and their member states?

The first session of Friends of Europe's Security Summit 2017 wanted to answer the following questions: Faced with evolving geopolitical concerns, is a consensus emerging in the EU or NATO on the need to promote greater dialogue with Russia that would entail listening and not just talking? How should military and civil policymakers adapt the current security doctrine to address the evolving hybrid threats and challenges of the 21st century?

This event, organised in the framework of the Housing Solutions Platform, focused on the innovative financing instruments and approaches that are being implemented to balance housing supply and demand, tackle inefficient and costly housing markets, and improve housing systems.

This event, organised in the framework of the Housing Solutions Platform, focused on identifying and implementing innovative and effective policies to meet current needs presents both a financial and political challenge.

Ahead of the 2018 EU-China Year for Tourism, the conference will look at China’s growing soft power and global influence, expanding EU-China cultural ties and people-to-people relations. Its first panel will discuss the role of tourism in promoting cultural understanding, while the second will focus on China and Europe’s soft power, including the global rise of China’s creative and innovative industries and EU-China cultural cooperation.

In partnership with the International Energy Agency (IEA), Friends of Europe’s annual high-level conference and presentation of the International Energy Agency’s flagship World Energy Outlook, regarded as the gold standard in energy analysis, discusses the rapidly-evolving global energy landscape and its implications for Europe.

Making the digital revolution work better, faster for development by Friends of Europe

Average carbon prices in 2020 are likely to be almost nine per cent lower than forecasted in 2016. This makes it less attractive for stakeholders in the EU carbon market to invest in the technology needed to hit emissions targets. At EU level, talks on the fourth phase of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) continue, but with little consensus: effective change towards a European economy-wide carbon price requires more time. But in the run-up to major elections in Europe, the national level is stepping up: the recently-elected French President Emmanuel Macron put forward climate policies to raise the carbon price to €100 per tonne by 2030 – twenty times the current level. - Can the EU ETS remain the main driver of decarbonisation of the EU economy? - How can disruptive national leadership and a clear political vision reinforce European incentives on a strong carbon price signal? Can the French government’s actions inspire others towards change? - What will the next phase of the ETS look like – and can a more

Despite Europe’s efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of the electricity sector, and the substantial growth of renewables, coal – the most carbon-intensive fuel – still accounts for nearly 80% of the EU power sector’s emissions and its share in the mix is virtually unaltered. Europe’s role as a climate leader and the growth of intermittent renewables ask for an evolution of its energy mix towards greater flexibility and lower carbon emissions. The European Commission’s Clean Energy Package represents a historical turning opportunity to make the EU’s energy market ready for the future. - How do EU leaders translate European objectives into ambitious national policy? And how do they reshape a market still primarily designed for fossil fuels? - What policies are more effective in supporting the switch towards cleaner energy technologies? - What is needed to support stable long-term investment in renewables beyond 2020? - What will be the future for high-priority dispatch for renewables – and how can we ensur

The United States has pulled out of the Paris agreement, and the rest of the world is eager to fill the void. It’s time for the energy transition to step up a gear to strengthen European leadership, global cooperation and international governance and move to a green and resilient economy. Progress is being made. China, which accounts for about 30% of global emissions, is pledging to invest $360bn in renewables over the next three years. In 2014 more than half of all Latin America’s electricity came from renewables, more than double the world average. We will look at the importance of reinforced international public and private commitments to spur the clean energy revolution and provide high-level political will for ambitious, real-world policies and actions. - In the run up to the Paris rulebook in 2018, how can we ensure countries turn objectives into ambitious policies and long-term decarbonisation plans? - What extra economic and technological cooperation is needed between Europe and China to achieve cli

Cecilia Malmström is EU Commissioner for Trade. She spoke at Friends of Europe's EU-China Forum on 27 June 2017.

Ambassador Yang Yanyi is Head of Mission of China to the EU. She gave a welcome speech at the 7th EU-China Forum, organised by Friends of Europe on 27 June 2017.

Friends of Europe organised this high level debate in partnership with IEA and FuelsEurope to discuss green solutions for the future of road freight transport. On the occasion, the Executive Director of IEA Fatih Birol presented IEA's Report on “The Future of Road Freight Transport”. Other speakers included EU Commission Vice President for Energy Union Maroš Sefčovič, John Cooper (FuelsEurope) and Sophie Punte (Smart Freight Center).

Friends of Europe's debate on EU, NATO and the South took place in Brussels on 28 June 2017. It concentrated on the necessity for the transatlantic community to develop coordinated strategies to addresscomplex security and strategic challenges coming from the MENA region. Speakers included Magnus Nordenman (Atlantic Council of the United States), Gábor Iklódy (EEAS), freelance reporter and NATO analyst Teri Schultz, Jamie Shea (NATO)and former ambassador of Italy to NATO Stefano Stefanini.