Agriculture is an issue which is viewed very differently depending on which European country you look at it from. Whether it is the subsidies or the methods, it seems like there is no real understanding among all the EU member states. In this edition of the CEA Talks podcast, host Zoltán Kész is joined by Bill Wirtz, senior policy analyst at the Consumer Choice Center. 

CEA Talks host Zoltán Kész is talking to Michael Landl who is the director of the World Vapers’ Alliance about their upcoming EU campaign tour which will also land in 2 Central European countries. They will be in Warsaw, Krakow, Brno and Prague. Michael talks about the organization’s ‘Back Vaping, Beat Smoking’ initiative, and also about their goal to reach policy makers, combat misinformation and the wish to make their voices heard all around the world. 

Michael Landl is the director of the World Vapers’ Alliance He is an experienced policy professional and passionate vaper. Michael studied International Affairs at the University of St. Gallen, and worked for several public policy outlets and also in the German Parliament.

Balázs Sean Brandt president of the Young European Federalists of Hungary talks about the pressing issues of European youth such as Democracy, Rule of Law, etc. The response of the new generation to the rise in authoritarian figures across the EU, as well as the expansion of the European Union’s member states, with a focus on Moldova and Ukraine, are also topics in today’s episode of the Central European Affairs podcast.

Host: Robert Dirk Giese

Former US Ambassador to Georgia Ian Kelly talks about Russia’s war in Ukraine, Georgia as a prelude to the current crisis, what Vladimir Putin could count on with economic pain kicking in globally and whether the Russian President can be defeated in the political chess game with the Western world.

A new far-right party has started its work in the Hungarian Parliament as it passed the threshold of 5%. Its name is Mi Hazánk (Our Homeland). CEA Talks host Zoltán kész talks to Political Capital analyst Bulcsú Hunyady, who is an expert on extremism and radicalisation. They talk about what caused Our Homeland to get into the Hungarian Parliament, their Kremlin connections, their political agenda and what Hungarians can expect from them in the coming years.

Tanja Porcnik, the President of the Slovenian Visio Institute talks to Zoltan Kesz about the Slovenian elections. On April 24, a parliamentary election took place in the country. The results reflected a clear message from voters that the government needs to change. The ruling party led by Janez Jansa lost to a completely new party led by Robert Golob. Did Jansa's good relationship with Hungarian PM Orban play a role in the election? How did the pandemic play a role in his defeat? What led to the defeat of Jansa? What can we ecpect from the new government? Ms Porcnik gives an answer to all these questions.

Political analyst Romain Le Quiniou talks about the French presidential election, the impact of the Ukraine war on the vote, why President Emmanuel Macron's support has fallen in recent weeks, how Marine Le Pen's popularity is surging, and whether the European Union faces another shock momentum or the French 'cordon sanitaire' will work again?

Military expect Gustav Gressel talks about present and future of European defense policy, the main security providers in the continent, and why the Russian army is performing below its capabilities and expectations in Ukraine.

Russian civil-military relations expert Kirill Shamiev talks about the expanded Russo-Ukrainian War, the heavy costs of an assault on Kiev, Russia’s military reform, the benefits of foreign mercenaries, and how incorrect intelligence from the FSB’s Fifth Service could have contributed to a miscalculation of the Kremlin in Ukraine.

Hungary’s former ambassador to the NATO talks about the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Hungarian approach to a war in the backyard, Viktor Orbán’s special relationship to Vladimir Putin, and how the Russians demanded the Hungarians to take him out in 1989.