As part of our coverage of the EU’s 2024 transition, this episode will discuss the EU’s external actions in an increasingly fragmented geopolitical environment.

In recent years, the war in Ukraine, global supply chain disruptions and growing trade tensions with both China and the US have profoundly shaken the EU’s belief in a multilateral, rules-based international order. As the continent approaches the June 2024 European Parliament elections and the start of a new Commission mandate, a growing number of voices are calling on the EU to fundamentally review its approach by putting issues such as defence, economic security and enlargement at the top of its post-2024 agenda. Yet these new ambitions also face obstacles inherent to the EU system, from diverging national interests to limited competencies in e.g. defence and budgetary spending.

To explore these debates and shed light on their potential impact on business, Flint Director Julia Quintella will host:

• Sir Julian King, Specialist Partner, former British Ambassador and former EU Commissioner for security
• Bruno Maçães, Senior Adviser, former Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs and author of several books on geopolitics, China, Russia and technology