Europe Speaks: A TEPSA Podcast

EuropeChats – The EU’s next Strategic Agenda: more of the same or a reset? | Discussion with Richard Youngs & Wouter Detavernier

Europe Speaks: A TEPSA Podcast

Show Notes

This episode of EuropeChats is a discussion on a crucial question for the EU in 2024: what will the next Strategic Agenda look like?. Every five years, EU leaders agree on the EU's political priorities for the future. It is a collective effort led by the President of the European Council, where leaders discuss and decide together. It takes place in the context of the European Parliament elections and ahead of the appointment of each European Commission. Given the way Belgium has chosen to structure its Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the first half of 2024, the 6 months immediately preceding the finalisation of the Strategic Agenda, such that its second half can be dedicated to supporting the formulation of that Agenda, TEPSA Secretary-General Jim Cloos speaks with Wouter Detavernier, who is the Deputy Directory-General for European Affairs and Coordination at the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Richard Youngs, Senior Fellow at Carnegie Europe and TEPSA Board Member, joins the discussion too, in order to give his expert insights as a researcher. EuropeChats is the flagship podcast of TEPSA and it is part of the TEPSA Podcast Channel “Europe Speaks” Music: Worakls, 22 September 2014, Salzburg, Hungry music This video is co-funded by the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme of the European Union Co-Funded by the European Union.

More from Europe Speaks: A TEPSA Podcast

Oct 20, 2026

When candidate countries adopt EU social rules, do citizens’ lives actually change? What does it take to build resilient societies on the path to EU membership? This final episode looks at social cohesion in candidate countries and asks how the EU can help aspiring members move from passing laws to actually implementing them. InvigoratEU Talks is a podcast series born from the Horizon Europe-funded project, InvigoratEU, bringing together leading scholars and policy-makers from across Europe to do exactly what the name suggests: re-invigorate EU enlargement and neighbourhood policy in a changing world. Host: Mariam Khotenashvili, Executive Director, TEPSA Guests:

Oct 12, 2026

This episode of EuropeChats is a discussion between Seamus Allen, Senior Researcher at the Institute of International and European Affairs, and TEPSA Secretary-General Jim Cloos. The conversation covers European regulations and competitiveness in the tech sector, the regulatory framework for digital platforms, and the EU's AI policy. Seamus Allen is a Senior Researcher at the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) in Dublin. He works on digital policy, on the IIEA’s democracy series and also works on the IIEA’s Future Proofing Europe project. Prior to joining the IIEA, he worked for the Central Bank of Ireland. EuropeChats is the flagship podcast of TEPSA, and it is part of the TEPSA Podcast Channel “Europe Speaks”. Music: Worakls, 22 September 2014, Salzburg, Hungry music Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Oct 9, 2026

The European Commission has recently presented its pre-enlargement policy reviews with proposals on qualified majority voting, rule of law safeguards, and gradual integration. Will these proposals help accelerate European integration? And how do we remove the barriers that stand in the way of making enlargement a success? This episode of InvigoratEU Talks explores the changes that the EU must consider if it wants to speed up the enlargement process. InvigoratEU Talks is a podcast series born from the Horizon Europe-funded project, InvigoratEU, bringing together leading scholars and policy-makers from across Europe to do exactly what the name suggests: re-invigorate EU enlargement and neighbourhood policy in a changing world. Host: Mariam Khotenashvili, Executive Director, TEPSA Guests:

Jul 17, 2026

What are Russia and China trying to achieve in the Western Balkans and Eastern Neighbourhood? And how does that affect candidate countries’ path to EU membership? This episode of InvigoratEU Talks explores the impact of Russia and China’s political, economic, and social influence on the European continent. InvigoratEU Talks is a podcast series born from the Horizon Europe-funded project, InvigoratEU, bringing together leading scholars and policy-makers from across Europe to do exactly what the name suggests: re-invigorate EU enlargement and neighbourhood policy in a changing world. Host: Mariam Khotenashvili, Executive Director, TEPSA Guests:

Jun 25, 2026

Democracy support has been a cornerstone of EU enlargement and neighbourhood policy. Yet, today it is increasingly intertwined with geopolitical competition. In this third episode of InvigoratEU Talks, we ask: has the EU become better at promoting democracy, or has geopolitics changed the rules of the game? InvigoratEU Talks is a podcast series born from the Horizon Europe-funded project, InvigoratEU, bringing together leading scholars and policy-makers from across Europe to do exactly what the name suggests: re-invigorate EU enlargement and neighbourhood policy in a changing world. Host: Mariam Khotenashvili, Executive Director, TEPSA Guests:

See all episodes →