Show Notes
Chloe Teevan and Gautam Kamath interview Kai Zenner, Head of Office for MEP Axel Voss (European People's Party) and Senior Fellow at the Technical University of Munich. Kai was instrumental in the finalization of the AI Act and is a well-known commentator on European tech policy. A paradigm shift in transatlantic relations is forcing Europe to realize that it's "now or never" for significant changes in digital policy. Concerns about potential foreign control over critical data are pushing EU policymakers to act.
Kai Zenner discusses his role in the EuroStack initiative: a grassroots movement uniting diverse individuals who feel Europe has become a "digital colony" dependent in critical areas. He describes the biggest hurdle is a lack of political leadership willing to make the necessary hard, strategic investment choices, rather than fragmented small investments.
Gautam Kamath concludes by discussing Europe's strategic interdependencies, noting a divide between those advocating for purely European solutions and those recognizing Europe's need for openness and partnerships. Europe's historical strengths lie in being an open trading bloc and fostering consensus and needs to forge mutual partnerships with countries like Brazil (green technologies), Africa (AI), and India (skills and tech stack): moving beyond the "Brussels effect" and focusing on what Europe can learn from its global partners in a multipolar world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Europolis: The Global Europe Podcast by ECDPM
The Lobito Corridor has been sold as the flagship of Western efforts to compete with China in Africa: a multi-billion-dollar railway carrying critical minerals from the heart of the continent to the Atlantic. The reality is smaller, stranger and far more revealing. This episode is as much about propaganda and perception as it is about rail and minerals.
The steel sector alone accounts for roughly 7% of global carbon dioxide emissions. If the world is serious about hitting climate targets, emissions from this heavy industry must fall by at least 50% by 2050. But the path forward is as much about geopolitics and trade as it is about technology.
Five weeks after the United States and Israel began their unilateral bombardment of Iran – with Israel also resuming aerial attacks on Lebanon – the conflict is already reshaping Europe’s external environment. Iran’s blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for around 20% of global oil flows, is driving up energy prices and tightening fertilizer markets worldwide.
Europolis: the global Europe podcast (Episode 10) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode of Europolis, Chloe Teevan and Gautam Kamat are joined by Hiroki Habuka, one of Japan's leading AI policy experts, to discuss Japan’s unique, agile approach to AI regulation and how it offers a modular alternative to the EU’s prescriptive model. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.