The Eurofile

Max and Donatienne discuss the recent dispute over European blockages of grain imports from Ukraine and the state of media freedom and democracy in Greece. They then turn to a conversation with Ilke Toygür, non-resident senior associate with the CSIS Europe, Russia, and Eurasia program, to preview Turkey’s upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections three weeks out from voting day. 

Read More:

Transatlantic allies in action: Unpacking EU-US cooperation on Turkey ahead of elections , by Ilke Toygür and Max Hoffman 

Max and Donatienne discuss French president Emmanuel Macron’s recent visit to China and Finland’s long-awaited formal accession to NATO. They then turn to a conversation with Emily Benson to discuss the latest transatlantic tension stemming from the Inflation Reduction Act. 

Learn More:

Analyzing the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (csis.org) 

Green Industrial Strategies: Takeaways for Transatlantic Trade (csis.org) 

Max and Donatienne discuss the recent protests in France following President Macron’s controversial pension reform. They then cover the spat over the European Union’s e-fuels regulation, which roiled a recent European Council summit in Stockholm. Finally, they preview upcoming elections in Finland and Bulgaria, which could have implications for continued support to Ukraine, EU enlargement, and the bloc’s future democratic resilience. 

Learn more: Finland | 2023 Elections | CSIS

In this week’s episode of The Eurofile, Max and Donatienne discuss Ursula von der Leyen’s visit to Washington, D.C. and the prospect of closer transatlantic cooperation in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Following their conversation, they sit down with Kakha Gogolashvili, Senior Fellow and Director of EU Studies at the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies, to discuss the recently abandoned foreign agents law in Georgia, Russia’s presence in the South Caucasus, and Georgia’s EU membership aspirations. 

Read more: In Georgia, Civil Society Wins against Russia-Style ‘Foreign Agents’ Bill (csis.org) 

In this week’s episode of The Eurofile, Max and Donatienne discuss the recent post-Brexit EU-U.K. deal and takeaways from the Munich Security Conference. Following their conversation, they sit down with Sean Monaghan, visiting fellow with the CSIS Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program and an expert on European defense, to discuss the current state of European defense cooperation. 

Read more:

Solving Europe’s Defense Dilemma: Overcoming the Challenges to European Defense Cooperation (csis.org) 

Does the New EU-NATO Joint Declaration Matter? (csis.org) 

NATO and the Invasion, One Year On (csis.org) 

In this week’s special episode of The Eurofile marking the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Max and Donatienne discuss Europe’s response to the war. They are joined by Dr. Kathleen McInnis, Senior Fellow with the CSIS International Security Program and Director of the Smart Women, Smart Power Initiative, as well as Jim Townsend, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASD) for Europe and NATO Policy, and current Adjunct Senior Fellow with the Transatlantic Security Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). Their conversation covers the conflict’s impact on European defense, transatlantic relations, the European Union, NATO, and global geopolitics. 

Read more:

https://www.csis.org/analysis/continent-forged-crisis-assessing-europe-one-year-war 

https://www.csis.org/events/war-ukraine-one-year 

https://www.csis.org/analysis/nato-and-invasion-one-year  

In this week’s episode of The Eurofile, Max and Donatienne discuss the recent special meeting of the European Council and the key takeaways for Ukraine’s EU candidacy, weapons deliveries, and Europe’s migration policy. Following their conversation, they sit down with Jan Philipp Albrecht, former MEP and Co-President of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, to discuss the state of the transatlantic relationship from a German perspective, the European response to the Inflation Reduction Act, the German traffic light coalition, and more. 

Listen to the lasted episode of The Eurofile's sister podcast, Russian Roulette: Of Sino-Russian Military Cooperation: Alliance or Alignment? – Russian Roulette Episode 114 | Russian Roulette | CSIS Podcasts 

Max and Donatienne discuss the recent Czech elections and the long-awaited delivery of Western tanks to Ukraine. They are then joined by Federico Steinberg, an economist and visiting fellow with the CSIS Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program, from the Elcano Institute in Madrid to talk Europe’s economy and the transatlantic food fight over the Inflation Reduction Act’s climate change provisions. Finally, Max sat down for a conversation with Thierry Breton, EU Commissioner for the Single Market, to discuss the state of transatlantic security and technology cooperation. 

On the inaugural episode of The Eurofile, Max and Donatienne talk Qatargate and tanks, two issues causing heated debate in Europe right now. Later on, they sit down with Sophia Besch, Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, to discuss Zeitenwende and all things German foreign and defense policy.

Hosted by Max Bergmann, director of the Stuart Ceneter and the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program, and Donatienne Ruy, director of the Abshire-Inamori Leadership Academy at CSIS, “The Eurofile” looks at Europe through a Washington lens. We will discuss, debate, and dissect the big issues consuming Europe with some of the leading voices from the transatlantic community. We’ll try to make sense of developments in Brussels, break down European elections, and discuss all the issues roiling transatlantic relations. So join us for the first episode of “The Eurofile” on January 19th, with new episodes releasing every other Thursday, wherever you get your podcasts.