ESJ insight

With the increase of high profile cyber attacks, it has become undeniable that this issue is one of the most pressing for security. There is currently a huge vulnerability to all our key infrastructures, like health care, transit, and energy. To discuss how Europe is doing and what the future of cyber attacks is going to look like we are joined by Lauri Almann. Mr. Almann is the co-founder of CybExer Technologies and a former secretary general of the Estonian Ministry of Defence. He joined us at the Prague European Summit at the Czernin Palace in Prague, Czech Republic, and had some optimistic news about cyber defence.

Why is predicting the next big cyber threat more difficult today than it was seven years ago? What can the Biden administration do to strengthen global cyber security? How effective is European cybersecurity cooperation? How should we respond to ransomware attacks, and why does Mr. Almann believe we should allow ransom payments? In this episode of the ESJ Insight, we discuss all of this and more.

The Czech Republic and Slovakia were once considered as having some of the best responses in Europe to the Coronavirus, but this early success in 2020 has since been overshadowed by the failures of 2021. Both countries have held terrible positions as having the most infections and death per capita in the world. To understand what happened, how social media contributed to the problem, and why people still do not believe that vaccines are safe, we are joined by the incredibly knowledgeable Katarína Klingová.

Ms. Kligová is a senior research fellow at the GLOBSEC Policy Institute in Bratislava, and an expert on information campaigns in Central Europe.

Are you curious how Nord Stream 2 and European Green Deal are related? Do you want to know if Europe will ever achieve energy autonomy or what are the main obstacles on the way to an Energy Union? Want to hear about the relation between energy and national security? Join us for a lively discussion about Russia, Europe, renewables and energy security with Ambassador Václav Bartuška!

Václav Bartuška is an Ambassador-at-Large for Energy Security of the Czech Republic since 2006, as well as visiting professor at the College of Europe. He works on a wide range of issues from oil and gas supply to energy strategy. During the gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine in January 2009, when the Czech Republic held the EU Presidency, he was involved in negotiations with Russian, Ukrainian, and EU leadership. In 2010, he was appointed by the Czech Government to the position of Commissioner for expansion of the Temelin nuclear power plant.

Recorded on 2nd March.

Chinese foreign influence poses its own unique security threats. While Russian sponsored influence campaigns focus on short term goals like influencing an election, Chinese influence appears to have much more long term strategic goals.

Dr. Rogier Creemers is an Assistant Professor in the Law, and Governance of China, at Leiden University, and joins the show to give us his perspective on Chinese influence and strategy.

We also get to discuss the current weaknesses in Europe’s preparedness to be a global player, why is China an intellectual challenge for many European decision-makers but also the question of the longer-term sustainability of democratic governance structures and models.

Since the annexation of Crimea, Russia has been flexing its muscle in Europe. Not just militarily, but especially through the use of its disinformation networks. How can Europe deal with them? What drives Russia to this behaviour? Or what should be the EU’s stance towards the proxy conflicts (Ukraine, Caucasus…) in its neighbourhood with obvious Russian involvement? Find answers to these and more questions in our today’s frank podcast!

Nicolás de Pedro is a Senior Fellow at The Institute for Statecraft in London where he works on issues related to Russia, disinformation and hybrid threats. He is also a member of the Experts Pool on Russia at the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE) in Helsinki and he is also a core group member of the EU-Russia Experts Network (EUREN). Furthermore, he has worked as a consultant on Russian and Eurasian issues for the European Parliament, the Open Society Initiative for Europe (OSIFE), the Club of Madrid, and the European Union-Central Asia Monitoring (EUCAM) Project.

Recorded on 20th January.

The United States inaugurated a new president – Joe Biden. What can we expect from him in terms of his foreign policy? Will he be Obama-style internationalist or Trump-style isolationist? How is he going to tackle the issue of NATO defence spending, withdrawal of US troops from Europe, arms control or Russia? All while the EU starts to eye a creation of its own army.

Dr. Richard Andres is a Professor of National Security Strategy at the U.S. National War College. He has served as a personal consultant on strategy to the Director of the National Security Agency-U.S. Cyber Command; the Secretary of the Air Force; the Commandant of the Marine Corps and other national leaders. He has led strategy development teams for the Bush and Obama White Houses.

The interview was recorded on 10.12.2020.

The new Biden administration in the United States means a sharp change in policy, both domestically for the US and internationally. This means that Europe should be prepared for dramatic changes in the international system.

Petr Boháček of the Association for International Affairs, and research fellow at Charles University joins us to discuss what these changes will look like for international organizations, and for military and political relations across the Atlantic. Additionally, we have the opportunity to discuss rising populism and how Trump’s influence carried around the world.

Energy security in Europe is a complex web that involves economics, politics and strategy. In the middle of this is the Nordstream 2 pipeline, which is still seen as necessary to meet Europe’s demand for gas. The Russian oil and gas are essential for maintaining not just everyday needs like electricity and heat, but also for maintaining economic production and manufacturing.

Dr. James Henderson is the Director of the Natural Gas Programme at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, joins us to discuss the future of energy security in Europe, and the recent arrest of Alexei Navalny.

ESJ Insight brings you an insider’s perspective on current security issues. Join us to discover more about the threats and challenges facing Europe today and tomorrow.

Our hosts Michal and Simone will be regularly joined by a variety of security experts, from journalists and academic researchers, to politicians and military authorities for a short discussion on a new topic. The podcast will go beyond traditional military affairs, and look into the emerging threats of technology, climate, and geopolitical security.

Instead of just reporting on the issues, we will delve deeper into their implications, looking into the future, and trying to find the bigger picture.