EU Decoded

Ahead of the EU-African Union Summit scheduled for 17 and 18 February, the EPP Group has adopted a position paper on Africa, outlining the Group's vision for future EU-Africa relations.

The EU wants a global gateway, leveraging three hundred billion in development projects around the world and much of that in Africa.

And we want to talk about that. Talk about development, climate change, investment, jobs, migration and security.

Chris Burns had a very interesting conversation with four of our MEPs - Tomas Tobé, György Hölvényi, Hildegard Bentele and Michael Gahler.

Don't miss out!

And if you have a topic that you would like to hear discussed in this podcast, please get in touch via social media.

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For more information about the EPP Group visit: https://www.eppgroup.eu.

On 7 February 1992, in the Dutch town of Maastricht, 12 members of the European Economic Community signed a Treaty that would pave the way for the Europe we know today.

The Maastricht Treaty laid foundations for many elements of the modern EU, with the main idea being further European integration.

So what has changed in the last 30 years? What are the big successes of the Maastricht Treaty? What are the challenges that the EU still has to face?

In the newest episode of our podcast, Jack Parrock had a fantastic conversation on this topic with Jeroen Lenaers MEP, and Georgina Wright, Head of the Europe Programme at the Paris based Institut Montaigne.

Make sure to tune in!

And if you have a topic that you would like to hear discussed in this podcast, please get in touch via social media.

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For more information about the EPP Group visit: https://www.eppgroup.eu.

Europe is going through a process of deciding what it wants to be, both as a political movement and as a functioning body supporting EU citizens. At this EPP Group's event, we took a look at how the discussions here in Brussels are affecting citizens of the European Union, and what it all means for Ireland.

Five Irish Members of our Group joined us in the studio - Deirdre Clune; Frances Fitzgerald; Maria Walsh; Sean Kelly; Colm Markey; as well as Leo Varadkar, Tánaiste and Leader of Fine Gael, who joined remotely; and Tommie Gorman, former Northern Ireland editor for RTE.

We also discussed the future generation of EU citizens. And for this topic we had a message from Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and we were also joined by Mark McNulty, Youth Representative of the National Youth Council of Ireland.

Tune in to the new episode!

And if you have a topic that you would like to hear discussed in this podcast, please get in touch via social media.

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For more information about the EPP Group visit: https://www.eppgroup.eu.

Russia and Ukraine are topics dominating global headlines these days.

There are more than 100.000 Russian troops on three sides of Ukraine. What does this mean? Could this lead to an invasion?

There were meetings between the USA and Russia, a meeting among NATO ministers, EU ministers and also OSCE officials. Where do we go from here?

What is the European Parliament's stand on this?

On this occasion, Chris Burns talked to two Members of the EPP Group, Andrius Kubilius of Lithuania, ex-Prime Minister and Chair of the delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly and a Member of the delegation to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee; and Michael Gahler of Germany, a Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Subcommittee on Security and Defence.

This podcast was originally recorded as a Twitter Spaces event, and we had some guests joining the discussion who we would like to thank.

Tune in!

And if you have a topic that you would like to hear discussed in this podcast, please get in touch via social media.

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For more information about the EPP Group, visit: https://www.eppgroup.eu.

A new year is about the start but many global challenges will follow us into 2022.

Putin’s continuous friction with the West, a whole new type of attack on the EU orchestrated by Lukashenko, rising tensions in the Western Balkans, post-Brexit problems…

These are all the issues which the EU will have to continue handling in the new year.

In this week’s episode, Chris Burns was joined by David McAllister MEP, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the European Parliament.

Don’t miss it!

And if you have a topic that you would like to hear discussed in this podcast, please get in touch via social media.

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For more information about the EPP Group, visit: https://www.eppgroup.eu.

The online environment is regarded by many as the Wild West. And to make sense of that Wild West, we need a comprehensive set of rules. This is where the Digital Services Act comes into play.

In the status quo that we have now, big platforms set the rules themselves and criminal content goes online.

The DSA intends to change that.

Tune into our latest episode with MEP Arba Kokalari, EPP Group Spokeswoman on the DSA file, and Fredrik Erixon, Director of the European Centre for International Political Economy.

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And if you have a topic that you would like to hear discussed in this podcast, please get in touch via social media.

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For more information about the EPP Group, visit: https://www.eppgroup.eu.

The flaring up of tensions along the border between Poland and Belarus has dominated EU headlines. Poland has accused Alexander Lukashenko of encouraging thousands of migrants from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere to travel to Belarus and cross the border illegally into Poland. 

Though the number of people crossing into the EU is far below the numbers we saw in 2015, the freezing temperatures and violence along the border has attracted widespread attention and worry from the EU and elsewhere. 

Without a doubt, these events pose a significant challenge for the Union and its decision-makers.

So what should the EU do?

In this week's podcast, our host Georgina Wright was joined by MEP Esteban González Pons and Ryhor Astapenia, Director of the Belarus Initiative at the London-based think tank Chatham House, in order to try and find the answer to this question.

Don't miss it!

And if you have a topic that you would like to hear discussed on this podcast, please get in touch via social media. 

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For more information about the EPP Group visit: https://www.eppgroup.eu.

Just when we though that the situation in the world is getting safer, now comes Omicron variant. First detected in South Africa, it is now spreading out to many other countries around the world. It seems to be much more contagious than the Delta variant, with plenty of mutations.

It has shaken the financial markets, there is already a number of new travel restrictions in various countries, so the question is - what will happen in the next weeks as we sail towards the holidays?

How will the EU react?

In today's episode Chris Burns talked to Dr. Peter Liese MEP, member of the European Parliament's Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety.

Tune in!

And if you have a topic that you would like to hear discussed in this podcast, please get in touch via social media.

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For more information about the EPP Group visit: https://www.eppgroup.eu.

Men die younger than women. This statistic is true for every country around the globe.

The reasons behind such a statistic are numerous, but one of them is the simple fact that men seek less professional help than women regarding  both their physical and mental health.

Why is this so?

In honour of Movember, the month dedicated to men’s health awareness, we have talked to several experts on the topic - MEP Tom Vandenkendelaere, Dr. Ian Roberts from Trinity College Dublin and Dr. Gavin Keane, founder of MensHealth.ie, a GP clinic specialised for men.

Tune in!

And if you have a topic that you would like to hear discussed in this podcast, please get in touch via social media.

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For more information about the EPP Group visit: https://www.eppgroup.eu.

The situation on the Belarus border is far from being resolved. Everyday there are new reports of illegal migrants trying to force their way into EU member countries.

What can the EU do about this? How can it prevent Belarus from capitalizing, hybridizing and weaponizing migrants for its its own benefit?

In this week's episode, Chris Burns is joined by Riho Terras, an Estonian Member of the European Parliament, a General, and Estonia's Defence Chief from 2011-2018.

Don't miss it!

And if you have a topic that you would like to hear discussed in this podcast, please get in touch via social media.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EPPGroup

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eppgroup

Twitter: https://twitter.com/eppgroup

For more information about the EPP Group visit: https://www.eppgroup.eu.