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In this episode, Philipp Lamprecht hosts a conversation with Frauke Seebass, member of the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG) and Research Fellow at ELIAMEP, on the outcome of the European Council of 15–16 October 2026 for EU enlargement. Building on the recent ECIPE Insight “Why the October Summit Must Make Enlargement More Credible and Economically Meaningful” and the joint ECIPE–BiEPAG study “From Periphery to Power: The Geoeconomic Case for Southeast Europe”, the discussion looks at how enlargement slipped down the summit agenda. It also covers what the Council’s decision to “take note” of the Commission’s pre-enlargement policy reviews and of the Irish Presidency’s plan to close negotiations with Montenegro says about member states’ commitment, and why the file risks staying with the Commission when leadership from capitals is urgently needed. The conversation also explores the geoeconomic stakes in Southeast Europe. As China, Russia, the Gulf states, Türkiye and the United States compete for influence in strategic areas such as defence, raw materials and digital connectivity, candidate countries have spent more than two decades in the EU’s waiting room. Frauke Seebass argues that the EU needs to make them a more credible offer, including earlier participation in political decision-making, closer integration into the Single Market and access to initiatives such as the Global Gateway, the FDI Screening Regulation and the Industrial Accelerator Act. Ultimately, the discussion raises a fundamental question: what would failure to bring Montenegro into the EU mean for the Union’s broader geopolitical ambitions? You can watch a video recording of this conversation here. You can read a transcript here.

In this episode, Fredrik Erixon hosts a conversation on how the EU’s Digital Markets Act is being tested by the rapid development of generative and agentic AI. He is joined by legal scholar Thibault Schrepel, Associate Professor of Law at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Faculty Affiliate at Stanford CodeX, and Director of Stanford Computational Antitrust, together with ECIPE Analyst Dyuti Pandya. They discuss why the DMA’s fixed “core platform service” categories may struggle to capture foundation models that evolve across multiple uses and markets. The conversation explores key tensions around data access, interoperability and self-preferencing, as well as recent developments involving Apple’s Siri AI, Google’s AI Overviews and Meta/WhatsApp. The discussion asks whether AI competition policy should rely less on rigid ex ante rules and more on flexible, conduct-based enforcement that can respond to harms as they emerge. You can watch a video recording of this conversation here. You can read a transcript here.

In this episode, Matthias Bauer speaks with Kay Jebelli (Kayvan Hazemi Jebelli), Vice President for Europe at the Chamber of Progress, about the real-world impact of the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) and its controversial expansion into next-generation enterprise cloud services.  Drawing on his background as a competition lawyer and recent market research, Jebelli argues that while European policymakers view the regulatory instrument as future-proof, its rigid enforcement is creating unintended friction for everyday consumers and delaying the rollout of advanced AI technologies. Focusing on cloud platforms, he explains how the European Commission is shifting away from traditional competition law and consumer welfare principles toward an agenda aimed at tech sovereignty and industrial policy. The conversation explores the unintended consequences of platform regulation, how the UK's flexible and participatory approach to cloud markets sharply diverged from the EU's gatekeeper model, the role of institutional independence within DG Competition, and the potential for transatlantic economic fallout. You can watch a video recording of this conversation here. You can read a transcript here.

In this episode, Erik van der Marel speaks with Erik Canton, Deputy Chief Economist at DG Research and Innovation and Deputy Head of Unit for Common Research and Innovation Strategy & Foresight Service at the European Commission, about the often overlooked relationship between technology adoption and labour market institutions. Drawing on his recent paper, Employment Protection, Adjustment Costs, and Technology Adoption, Canton argues that the key policy challenge is not how innovation is created, but how effectively firms adopt and integrate new technologies. Focusing on AI, he explains how stringent employment protection legislation (EPL) can impose significant legacy and restructuring costs on large, productive incumbent firms, creating a structural barrier to technology adoption and productivity growth. The conversation explores Europe's productivity paradox, why startups are often better positioned to embrace technological change, the strengths of Nordic flexicurity models, and how AI is reshaping labour market dynamics by shifting attention from workers' skill levels to the specific tasks they perform. You can watch a video recording of this conversation here. You can read a transcript of the chat here.

In this episode, Oscar Guinea speaks with legal scholar Silvia Nuzzo about the evolving role of free trade agreements (FTAs) in the global trading system. Drawing on Silvia's book, Technical Barriers to Trade, Preferential Integration and the Law of the WTO, the conversation explores whether FTAs weaken or reinforce the WTO framework. The experts discuss technical barriers to trade, regulatory cooperation, and how agreements such as CETA, USMCA, and the EU's trade negotiations with Mercosur, India, and Australia are shaping modern trade governance. The episode also examines the rise of transactional trade policy, shifting geopolitical priorities, and the reforms that could help the World Trade Organization remain relevant in an increasingly fragmented global economy. You can watch a video recording of this conversation here. You can read a transcript here. Disclaimer: The views expressed in this podcast are personal and should not be attributed to the European Commission.

In this episode, Andrea Dugo speaks with Milja Kalliosaari, Government Relations Manager at IQM Quantum Computers, about Europe's position in the global race for quantum technologies. They discuss how quantum computing is moving from research to real-world deployment, the role of Finland and the Helsinki region in developing one of the world's leading quantum ecosystems, and the factors behind IQM's success. The conversation explores the importance of public procurement, industrial capacity, and scaling European innovation, as well as the challenges posed by fragmentation, regulation, and technological sovereignty. Looking ahead, they examine the policy priorities needed to ensure Europe remains competitive in the emerging quantum economy. You can watch a video recording of this conversation here. You can read a transcript here.

In this episode, Philipp Lamprecht speaks with Bernd Christoph Ströhm, Senior Fellow at ECIPE and an expert at WIIW, about the critical geoeconomic and geopolitical shifts reshaping the Western Balkans. They explore how the region is currently facing a “structural shock” as a generation of doctors, engineers, and innovators migrates to the EU, driven by domestic corruption and a lack of meritocracy. Ströhm argues that this brain drain is hollowing out public services and slowing GDP growth, creating a vicious cycle that further weakens local institutions. The conversation also tackles the “integration fatigue” stalling EU enlargement. While Montenegro and Albania are making progress, others remain trapped by bilateral identity disputes, most notably North Macedonia, where trust has eroded following sacrifices made for the Prespa Agreement. As the EU’s decision-making remains slow, the experts warn that Russia and China are actively filling the gap through narrative warfare and strategic infrastructure loans. Ultimately, they conclude that the EU must adopt a more urgent and strategic approach to securing its immediate neighbourhood before its influence is permanently diminished. You can watch a video recording of this conversation here. You can read a transcript here.

In this episode, Fredrik Erixon speaks with Tengiz Pkhaladze, Senior Fellow and Director of ECIPE’s Bridging Frontlines programme, about how the EU’s neighbouring regions have become the space where the Union’s geopolitical credibility is being tested in real time. They argue that Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, the Western Balkans, and the Black Sea region should be understood as one strategic frontier rather than as separate policy files. This is where questions of sovereignty, security, and geopolitical alignment are playing out most acutely.  Pkhaladze, author of the recent paper Europe's Frontier Countries: The EU's Geopolitical Test, highlights three structural weaknesses: fragmented policy tools, slow decision making, and unresolved conflict dynamics. While the EU has made progress through sharper strategic thinking, renewed enlargement momentum, and stronger defence initiatives, ambition still exceeds delivery. Until that gap is closed, others will continue to take advantage of it. You can watch a video recording of this conversation here. You can read a transcript here.

In this episode, ECIPE’s Fredrik Erixon and Oscar Guinea talk about the EU’s revised Product Liability Directive (PLD) and how it risks fuelling many new class action lawsuits. Is it really good for Europe’s economy that it imports more of America’s litigation culture for managing collective redress? Together, they look into how the PLD expands “product” to include software, AI systems, algorithms, and digital files, and how new evidentiary presumptions and disclosure rules could lower the burden of proof for claimants. The discussion links the PLD to Europe’s growing “mass litigation” infrastructure (funders, specialised law firms, claim-bundling platforms), warns about forum shopping and Single Market fragmentation, and contrasts litigation-heavy models with Nordic approaches centred on public enforcement and alternative dispute resolution. You can watch a video recording of this conversation here. You can read a transcript of the chat here.

On this episode of ECIPE’s Global Economy Podcast, our Director, Matthias Bauer, welcomes Nicky Stewart, Senior Advisor at the Open Cloud Coalition, for a conversation on cloud markets in Europe, and how policy debates focus too heavily on market concentration and hyperscalers rather than on contractual lock-in, licensing practices, and lifecycle design. Drawing on ECIPE’s study Cloud Resilience and Security: Why Exit, Portability and Lifecycle Design Matter, the episode explores switching barriers, multi-cloud strategies, public procurement, competition enforcement under the DMA, and the importance of resilience and cybersecurity for Europe’s digital economy. You can watch a video recording of this conversation here. You can read a transcript of the chat here. Nicky Stewart is currently Senior Advisor at the Open Cloud Coalition. In the past, she led the Cabinet Office government/industry Commercial workstream for G-Cloud. Nicky left the government in 2011 and was the former Commercial Director of UKCloud. She has been a member of the European Commission’s Expert Group on Cloud Computing Contracts and has taken an active role in the European Commission’s Cloud Special Interest Group. She was the vice chair of techUK’s Central Government Council and is on the Open Cloud for Research Environments Expert Advisory Board. Nicky is regularly quoted in the trade and national press on cloud issues.

In this episode, Fredrik Erixon speaks to Jeffrey Schwab of the Liberty Justice Center about the legality of the “Liberation Day tariffs”. A ruling by the Supreme Court is expected soon, and Schwab is the plaintiff lawyer behind the case V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump. Schwab lays out his case and explains the constitutional limits of presidential tariff powers. They explore the legal arguments, implications for businesses, prospects for potential refunds, and the expected timeline for the Court’s ruling. You can watch a video recording of this conversation here. You can read a transcript of the chat here. Jeffrey Schwab serves as Senior Counsel and Interim Director of Litigation at the Liberty Justice Center, where he litigates cases to protect civil liberties and constitutional rights. Jeff has a particular interest in protecting the right of free speech and enforcing constitutional and other legal limits on government. He served as counsel for Mark Janus in Janus v. AFSCME, the landmark case in which the United States Supreme Court found that public employees could not be compelled to pay money to a union without their consent. He currently leads Liberty Justice Center’s efforts to enforce the Janus decision and protect public employees’ rights not to be forced to join or pay a union. Jeff has also served as lead counsel in Liberty Justice Center cases challenging restrictions on ride-share vehicles and home-sharing hosts, the implementation of a tax on Internet streaming services such as Netflix and Spotify on Chicago residents, and campaign finance laws that seek to benefit certain political contributors over others. Additionally, Jeff challenged an Illinois law limiting which courts people who seek to vindicate their constitutional rights against the state can file. He is admitted to practice in Illinois and is licensed in the US Supreme Court, the First, Second, Third, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, as well as federal district courts in Illinois.

In this episode of our Global Economy Podcast, our Director, Oscar Guinea, talks with Lucian Cernat* about the latter’s new paper, Trade Policy 3.0: Three Scenarios for Tomorrowland. Their conversation outlines the evolution from trade policy 1.0 to 3.0 and how geopolitical tensions, resilience, and economic security shape today’s landscape. They cover the WTO’s role, lessons from COVID-19, and three future scenarios (immunity, sclerosis, and contagion), offering insights into the shifting global trade environment. You can read a transcript of the chat here. Read Lucian’s study here. Lucian Cernat is the Head of Trade in Goods, Tariff Negotiations, Technical Barriers to Trade, Customs and Rules of Origin at DG TRADE in the European Commission. Previously, he held the position of Head of Global Regulatory Cooperation and International Procurement Negotiation at the European Commission. Until 2008, he held various positions at the United Nations in Geneva dealing with trade and development issues. He has authored more than 20 publications on the development impact of trade policies, WTO negotiations, EU preferential market access, regional trade agreements, competition policy, corporate governance. Prior to his UN experience, he has been a Trade Diplomat with the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and part of the negotiating team of bilateral FTAs with the EuroMed area and Baltic countries, preceding Romania’s accession to the EU. Lucian Cernat obtained a PhD from University of Manchester and a postgraduate diploma from Oxford University. He is also the author of Europeanization, Varieties of Capitalism and Economic Performance in Central and Eastern Europe (Palgrave Macmillan, 2006). *Disclaimer: the opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the guest and do not represent an official position by the European Commission.

ECIPE’s Fredrik Erixon talks to Professor Jonathan Barnett, from the University of Southern California, about his recent book The Big Steal: Ideology, Interest, and the Undoing of Intellectual Property. Together, they discuss how policymakers have weakened IP protections in the last decades, partly because of shifting technologies and new ideas, and distorted innovation incentives. As a result, innovation and value generation have shifted between sectors and business models. The conversation also covers how strong IP rights contribute to long-term, high-value innovation, new entrepreneurship, and competition, drawing implications for Europe and global policy reform. You can watch a video recording of this conversation here. You can read a transcript of the chat here. Order Professor Barnett’s book “The Big Steal: Ideology, Interest, and the Undoing of Intellectual Property” here. Jonathan M. Barnett is the Torrey H. Webb Professor of Law at the University of Southern California, Gould School of Law, and director of the law school’s Media, Entertainment and Technology Law Program. He specialises in innovation law and policy, including antitrust, competition, corporate, and intellectual property law, with a focus on monetisation strategies and organisational structures in content and technology markets. He has published widely in scholarly and policy publications and comments regularly on innovation and competition policy in the press and at professional conferences. Prior to academia, he practised corporate law at a leading international law firm, specialising in mergers and acquisitions.

In this episode of the Global Economy Podcast, ECIPE’s Chief Economist, Erik van der Marel, sits down with Harold James, Professor at Princeton University and a leading expert on globalisation. Together, they dive into James’s book Seven Crashes: The Economic Crises That Shaped Globalisation, exploring how major economic shocks — from demand-side crises like the Great Depression and the 2008 financial meltdown to supply-side disruptions like the 1840s food crisis, the 1970s oil shock, and COVID-19 — have repeatedly reshaped the course of globalisation, either slowing it down or propelling it forward. During their conversation, Erik and Professor James discuss the potential for a renewed wave of globalisation following the current negative supply shock. They trace historical parallels between past technologies — such as steam power and containerisation — and institutions like joint-stock companies that once propelled globalisation forward, and today’s transformative technologies, such as AI, that are likely to do the same. The dialogue also examines US policy, semiconductor bottlenecks, rare earths, the global shift toward services, intellectual property, and the role of education in shaping the future of globalisation. You can watch a video recording of this conversation here. You can read a transcript of the chat here. Order Professor James’s book “Seven Crashes: The Economic Crises That Shaped Globalisation” here. Harold James, the Claude and Lore Kelly Professor in European Studies at Princeton University, is Professor of History and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School, and an associate at the Bendheim Center for Finance. His books include a study of the interwar depression in Germany, The German Slump (1986); an analysis of the changing character of national identity in Germany, A German Identity 1770-1990 (1989); International Monetary Cooperation Since Bretton Woods (1996), and The End of Globalization (2001), which is available in 8 languages. He was also coauthor of a history of Deutsche Bank (1995), which won the Financial Times Global Business Book Award in 1996, and he wrote The Deutsche Bank and the Nazi Economic War Against the Jews (2001). His most recent books include Family Capitalism, Harvard University Press, 2006; The Creation and Destruction of Value: The Globalization Cycle, Harvard University Press, 2009; Making the European Monetary Union, Harvard University Press, 2012; The Euro and the Battle of Economic Ideas (with Markus K. Brunnermeier and Jean-Pierre Landau), Princeton University Press, 2016; Making A Modern Central Bank: The Bank of England 1979-2003, Cambridge University Press 2020; The War of Words: A Glossary of Globalization, Yale University Press 2021; Seven Crashes: The Economic Crises That Shaped Globalization, Yale University Press 2023. He is the official historian of the International Monetary Fund. In 2004, he was awarded the Helmut Schmidt Prize for Economic History, and in 2005 the Ludwig Erhard Prize for writing about economics. He writes a monthly column for Project Syndicate.

In this episode of the Global Economy Podcast, Fredrik Erixon speaks with Stuart Harbinson, former WTO Ambassador and senior fellow at ECIPE, about the state of global trade, the Trump tariffs, and the future of the World Trade Organization (WTO). They explore the erosion of the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) principle, the rise of bilateralism, and the threat this poses to multilateral trade rules. The discussion highlights historical lessons, the limits and opportunities for WTO reform, and the role of the WTO Secretariat. Harbinson also offers pragmatic insights into dispute settlement, the MPIA, and possible paths forward for preserving the multilateral trading system. Read Stuart’s blog “The WTO in the Age of Trump’s Trade Bullying – Should There Be WTO Reform?“. You can watch a video recording of this conversation here. You can read a transcript of the chat here. Stuart Harbinson had a distinguished career in public service in Hong Kong. From 1994 to 2002 he represented Hong Kong, and then the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, in the WTO in Geneva. He subsequently joined the WTO Secretariat as Chief of Staff to Director-General Dr Supachai Panitchpakdi and then became Senior Adviser to Director-General Pascal Lamy. He has rich experience as a former Chairman of a number of WTO bodies, including the TRIPS and Services Councils, and the Dispute Settlement Body. He was Chairman of the WTO’s overarching body, the General Council overseeing preparations for the launch of the Doha round, and of the negotiating group handling the formative stages of the Doha negotiations on agriculture. He has also chaired a number of WTO dispute settlement panels. After leaving the WTO, he worked in the UNCTAD Secretariat and for international law firms in Geneva, and has undertaken several trade-related technical assistance projects. He currently serves as a part time adviser on international trade for Penta Group, the world’s first comprehensive stakeholder solutions firm.