Since September 2021, the action-oriented thinktank LINKS Europe and The Hague Municipality, with the support of The Hague Humanity Hub, have hosted a series of 10 citizen-dialogue events on various issues of international concern. Titled, ‘The Hague Conversations on the Future of Europe in the World’, the events ran in framework of the EU’s Conference on the Future of Europe, and were a chance for European citizens to share their thoughts and ideas on the what the EU is doing and what it needs to do better. In this episode, Will Murray unwraps the main findings of the events series with Dr Dennis Sammut, the Director of LINKS Europe and Managing Editor of commonspace.eu.

Since its establishment, the EU has relied on soft power – such as diplomacy – and economic instruments as its main foreign policy tools, leaving hard and military power to its member states and the main Western military alliance, NATO. The concept of EU hard power is hardly new but has by-and-large remained, up to now, abstract; however, in light of the EU’s growing place in the world and recent events in Ukraine exposing threats that were thought to have been consigned to the history books, what was once inconceivable is starting to gain ground. To address this topic, Will Murray speaks to Prof Dr Jamie Shea – Professor of Strategy and Security at the University of Exeter and the former NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges.

The topic of EU enlargement encapsulates more than any other topic the interaction between the processes going on inside the European Union with those outside of it. It is discussed often in response to questions that go to the heart of the European project: Should the EU be considering new members, or should it consolidate first? What makes a country European? The question, ‘where does Europe end?’, has been asked repeatedly over the last three decades but never properly answered. In this episode, Will Murray speaks to HE Mr David Solomonia, the Georgian Ambassador to the Netherlands, and Professor Antoaneta Dimitrova, Professor of Comparitive Governance at Leiden University, to shed light on this question.

In this episode of Global Europe Unpacked, produced in collaboration with the City of The Hague, Will Murray speaks to Brian Mefford – a long-time observer of Ukraine, based in Kiev – about the state of the rule of law in Ukraine and the biggest challenges it faces; how it is affected by Russian interference; and what more could be done by the country’s Western partners to support and promote the rule of law there. Will then speaks to the vice-president of the Ukrainian National Bar Association, Dr Valentyn Gvozdiy, about what his institution does to support the rule of law in Ukraine; his perspective on the issues that Ukraine faces; and what he believes Ukraine can offer the EU when it comes to justice and the rule of law. Why not join the conversation? You can access the Conference on the Future of Europe’s digital platform to share your ideas, find events, and to read ideas and event reports, here: www.futureu.europa.eu/

In this introductory episode for series two of Global Europe Unpacked, produced in collaboration with the City of The Hague, Will Murray speaks to the Head of Representation for the European Commission in the Netherlands, Didier Herbert, about how the Conference on the Future of Europe is taking shape, and how people can – and why they should – get involved. Will then shares a conversation with The Hague’s Deputy Mayor, Saskia Bruines, about the importance of bridging the gap between the local and the international, and how her city of peace and justice is contributing to the initiative. #TheFutureIsYours Access the Conference on the Future of Europe’s digital platform: www.futureu.europa.eu/

We’ve been hearing a lot recently about multilateral diplomacy in crisis but what does this really mean? In the final episode of series one, Will Murray speaks to Stephanie Liechtenstein, the Web Editor-in-Chief of the Security and Human Rights Monitor, about multilateral diplomacy in the age of COVID-19, challenges for the OSCE, and more…

After over 70 years at the forefront of Western defence strategy, is NATO still relevant? In this episode of Global Europe Unpacked, Will Murray speaks to Dr Jamie Shea, former NATO Deputy Sec Gen for Emerging Security Challenges, about how the organisation is handling modern challenges, EU-NATO relations, and more.

It’s now nearly 12-years since the establishment of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) – a joint initiative bringing together the EU, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. In this episode, Will Murray speaks to Viola von Cramon-Taubadel MEP about the EU’s neighbourhood policy to the east and how it should move forwards.

It’s 2021 and the UK has formally left the European Union. In this episode Will Murray speaks to Dr Fabian Zuleeg, the Chief Executive and Chief Economist of the European Policy Centre in Brussels, about how the absence of the UK will impact the EU’s global ambitions, and the prospects for EU-UK relations going forward.

After four years of Donald Trump, the EU and US seem more distant than ever. In this episode of Global Europe Unpacked, Will Murray speaks to Dr Dan S. Hamilton from the Wilson Center in Washington DC, about what the Joe Biden presidency means for the Transatlantic relationship.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was established in the 1990s as a multilateral security organisation for Europe and Eurasia. Following an organisational crisis this year, Will Murray speaks to Dr Walter Kemp about the organisation's history and approach to security, and what can be done to ensure its effectiveness going forward.

The Conference on the Future of Europe is an initiative that intends to bring all the voices in the EU together to chart a course for the future of the bloc. In this episode, Will Murray speaks to Robert Micallef about what’s happening with this initiative, when and how it's likely take place, and how citizens can make the most of it.

Disinformation is not a new concept, but recently, it has become a serious challenge that threatens the most basic of European values. In this episode, Will Murray speaks to Bart Groothuis, a cyber-security expert and Member of the European Parliament, about what Europe can be doing to tackle this growing threat.

It's becoming increasingly clear that China is too big to ignore, but how should the EU manage its relationship with this emerging superpower? Will Murray speaks to sinologist Ardi Bouwers about why a collective EU strategy on China may be necessary.

The idea of a global or geopolitical Europe has been gaining traction amongst the EU's foreign policy community, but what does it really mean? In this episode, we speak to Malik Azmani, a Member of the European Parliament, about this ambition and the challenges it faces.

A trailer for Global Europe Unpacked – a new podcast by commonspace.eu, premiering on Thursday 19 November 2020. The series will look at European foreign policy and the growing ambition for the EU to become a global or geopolitical power.