Should Canada join the EU?

Should Canada join the EU?

Author: Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer March 20, 2025 Duration: 53:36

Europe and Canada have a lot in common, from their headaches over Donald Trump to a shared belief in welfare states. If Australia can be a part of Eurovision, is there anything stopping us from welcoming our Canadian friends into the EU?! This week we talk to Stanley Pignal, The Economist's semi-Canadian Brussels bureau chief, about what would be in it for both sides. We're also looking at the escalating political crisis in Bosnia, and the places in Europe where you're likely to live the longest. 

  You can read Stanley's article about the case for Canadian EU membership here and find his Charlemagne column on European politics here. He posts on Bluesky here.   Thanks for listening. If you enjoy our podcasts, we'd love it if you'd consider supporting our work. You can chip in to help us cover the weekly research and production of The Europeans at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (many currencies are available), or gift a donation to a super fan here. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast!      This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news.   This week's Inspiration Station recommendations: 'The Agency' and writing a letter to a Russian political prisoner via OVD-Info (an initiative discovered via this essay in The Dial by Francesca Mastruzzo).   Other resources for this week's episode    'The Economics Show' podcast by the Financial Times: 'Can societies age gracefully?' - January 13, 2025 https://www.ft.com/content/8ce0571d-06f0-40de-8579-4446d1fb07f3    'The EU needs a proactive approach in Bosnia' - editorial in Politico Europe by Arminka Helić, March 17, 2025 https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-bosnia-western-balkans-europe-war-bih-crisis-serbia/   00:34  Spring Is Real
02:50  Good Week: Europeans are living longer
15:00  Bad Week: Bosnia and Herzegovina
28:54  Interview: Stanley Pignal on the case for Canadian EU membership
45:38  The Inspiration Station: The Agency and letters to Russian political prisoners
50:46  Happy Ending: Germany's economy could be wurst   Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech Oleksiak

Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina

  YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | hello@europeanspodcast.com    

Every week, Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer sit down to untangle the stories shaping the continent, moving beyond the headlines to find the human threads within European news, politics, and culture. Their conversations feel like joining two well-informed friends who are genuinely curious, offering clarity on complex political shifts in Brussels one moment and diving into a compelling film from Berlin or a novel from Lisbon the next. This isn't about dry analysis; it's about understanding the forces that define daily life from Dublin to Sofia. In this The Europeans podcast, you'll hear interviews with policymakers, artists, and everyday people, all contributing to a richer, more nuanced picture of a region in constant motion. The tone is engaging and accessible, designed for anyone who feels that Europe's narrative is too often reduced to stereotypes or institutional jargon. By weaving together current affairs with deeper cultural trends, each episode builds a more complete and surprisingly relatable portrait. If you've ever wanted to feel more connected to the ideas and debates circulating across the Channel and beyond, this is a consistent and thoughtful guide.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

The Europeans | European news, politics and culture
Podcast Episodes
Small Ex-Soviet Satellite State My Ass [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:24
This week, we're heading to a small country with a big bold foreign policy. Czechia, aka the Czech Republic, has won international praise by negotiating a desperately-needed ammunition deal for Ukraine. Why did it succee…
The Portuguese Constitution Is Delicious [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:33
Scandal-hit Socialists, a surging far-right, and winners that no one can get excited about — Portugal has just delivered some of this year's trickiest European election results. This week, we ring Politico reporter Aitor…
YOLO, Swiss pensioners [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:25
This week: two referendums and some dodgy criminal reforms. We're talking about Swiss voters' decision to treat themselves to bigger pensions, and Slovakia's battle to stop cronyism under populist prime minister Robert F…
Army Boots [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:00
In February 2022, as Russian tanks rolled across the border, the writer and historian Olesya Khromeychuk told us the story of the boots she had bought for her brother, serving at the front in eastern Ukraine. This week,…
Orbán’s biggest crisis? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:29
Hungary has seen its biggest anti-government protests in years over the past couple of weeks. But just how dangerous is this moment for Viktor Orbán? This week our favourite Hungarysplainer Viktória Serdült joins us to d…
Two Parallel Polands [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:40
Poland's rightwing populists are finally out of power. But what happens now? This week, our producer Wojciech Oleksiak and Warsaw-based journalist Claudia Ciobanu join us to explain why restoring Polish democracy is easi…
Toxic air and toxic politicians [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:01
Last weekend, Parisians voted to triple parking fees for SUVs in a bid to remove some of the city's more polluting vehicles. It's just one of many policy ideas that are being tested out in European cities to clean up the…
Why are Europe’s farmers so angry? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:41
From France to Romania, Germany to Bulgaria, angry farmers have been blocking the roads. What's behind this wave of agricultural protests across the continent? This week we're getting to grips with the policies behind th…
What actually happens to Europe’s recycling? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:06
A lot of us are pretty diligent when it comes to throwing our plastic into the dedicated bin. But how much of that stuff actually gets recycled? This week we're digging into the truth behind Europe's trash with Nico Schm…

«1...678910