Channeling Brussels

Westmacott: ‘Turkey’s European Journey’ Has Taken a Detour

The title of Sir Peter Westmacott's new paper, Turkey's European Journey, does not indicate where he thinks the country stands on that path, whether he believes Ankara is still headed toward Europe or whether it has turned off that road permanently. In this episode, host Teri Schultz speaks to Sir Peter Westmacott, a distinguished ambassadorial fellow with the Atlantic Council's Future Europe Initiative who has served as the United Kingdom's ambassador to France, Turkey, and the United States, about how he sees Turkey's current status under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

A Decade After “Web War 1,” Former Estonian President Blasts EU Cyber Inertia

Even as the pervasive and destructive capacity of cyberattacks becomes ever more evident with the alleged Russian meddling in European and American politics, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, a former president of Estonia, marvels at the European Union’s under-performance in dealing with the threat. In this episode, host Teri Schultz speaks to former Estonian President Toomas Ilves about Estonia's internet adaptability,  "Web War 1," and Russia's interference in the European political space.

Sorin Ducaru, NATO’s Man with Many Helmets

Bearing a title that obligates him to manage evolving security threats, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges Sorin Ducaru has his hands more than full.  With the threat landscape against the alliance changing constantly in unpredictable ways, many of them breaking new terrain in warfare, Ducaru and his staff have to be prescient, agile, and humble about their abilities to predict what's next. In this episode, host Teri Schultz speaks to NATO Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges Sorin Ducaru about how the alliance is approaching all its new threats and adapting its mindset in some surprising ways.

Lonely GOP Outpost in Brussels Sees Supporters Slowly Emerge

It's not a secret that expatriate Americans, along with Europeans, tend to feel more closely aligned with the Democratic Party in the United States. However,  Michael Kulbickas, chairman of Republicans Overseas, says he has spent many years hoping a candidate as transformative as Donald Trump would come along. In this episode, host Teri Schultz speaks to Michael Kulbickas, Chairman of Republicans Overseas about support for Trump in Europe and the role that Republicans Overseas is playing in bringing the US and Europe closer together.

Channeling Brussels: NATO Fights to Close the Gender Gap

Our guest this week for a special Women's Day episode of Channeling Brussels is Ambassador Marriet Schuurman, NATO's special representative for "Women, Peace and Security", tasked with helping implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325. The measure obligates UN member governments to elevate the concerns and well-being of women and children, to work to prevent violations of women's rights and gender-based violence, to increase the involvement of women in peace negotiations and post-conflict reconstruction.