Europe in Perspective – Podcast

The Europe in Perspective Podcast is the result of a scientific initiation project, supervised by Prof. Alexandre Mendes Cunha, and developed within the framework of the Jean Monnet Chair of European Studies, located at the Faculty of Economics of the Federal University of Minas Gerais. The purpose of the podcast is to offer discussions on current issues related to the European Union, with the aim of spreading the theme of European Studies! 

The host of the podcast is Arthur Mansur, a student and researcher in charge of the scientific initiation project. In each episode, an expert in the field is invited to discuss the topic with the student.

Listen now!

Episode 01 (Bi-regional Association Agreement between Mercosur and the European Union)

For the first episode, the topic chosen is the Bi-regional Association Agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, which has received a lot of media attention following the announcement that the negotiation of the trade pillar will be concluded in 2019. The expert invited to the episode was Professor Patrícia Nasser de Carvalho, a permanent lecturer at the Faculty of Economics of the Federal University of Minas Gerais, whose research interests include international trade, international negotiations, economic blocs and regional integration projects.

During the forty-minute conversation between the student and the professor, specific points about the negotiation of the agreement were discussed, but there was also a broader analysis that took into account factors such as the political component between the two regions, the current geopolitical relations between the European Union and Mercosur, and also the economic impact that the agreement will have on the regional economy.

Episode 02 (The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and the impact of the conflict on the European Union)

For the second episode, the topic chosen was the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and the impacts of the conflict on the European Union. The guest expert for the episode was Prof. Dr. Kai Enno Lehmann, who is an Associate Professor at the Institute of International Relations at the University of São Paulo, and whose areas of expertise include foreign policy, complexity, the European Union and regional integration. During the forty-five minute conversation between the student and the professor, specific points of the ten years of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict were addressed, considering its beginning after the Russian annexation of the Crimean peninsula in March 2014. The emphasis was on the European Union’s responses, especially in the financial and military fields, and on a comparative aspect, differentiating between the reactions in 2014 and those after February 2022. There was also a broader analysis that considered, for example, Ukraine’s dependence on support from Washington, the consequences of the US presidential elections in 2024, as well as the impact on the European Union of a possible defeat of Kyiv by Moscow on the battlefield.

Episódio 03 (The economics of the European Union integration project)

For this third episode, the chosen topic was the economics of the European Union integration project, with a focus on the contemporary economic challenges faced by the bloc. The specialist invited to the episode was Professor Fabio Masini, who is a Full Professor of the Department of Political Science at the Roma Tre University in Italy, and who is also a Jean Monnet Chair of European Economic Governance. Professor Masini’s main fields of research include European and international economic and monetary integration, as well as economic policy and public intervention in the economy.
Over the course of around forty-five minutes of conversation, the student and the professor have talked about specific topics regarding the economic governance within the European Union, as well as its main contemporary challenges. The questions raised by the student have considered historical events in the almost 75-year long period of European integration, from the official launch of the common currency in Europe at the turn of the 21st century, to the most recent crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in 2022. In addition, Professor Masini has also brought interesting points to the conversation regarding the EU’s strategies to navigate in the most urgent trends in geoeconomics.