MCC Brussels Podcast

Why does the EU want to ban young people from the internet? I MCC Brussels Podcast 17.07.2026 38min

In this episode, host Jacob Reynolds is joined by MCC Brussels research fellow Richard Schenk and French MEP Virginie Joron to examine how Europe’s ruling class uses child protection, the rule of law and procedural trickery to expand its control over citizens and political opponents. First, the panel turns to Ursula von der Leyen’s proposed social-media restrictions. The official justification is child safety. The likely consequence is that every European internet user may be forced to...

France Wants Marine Le Pen on a Leash I MCC Brussels Podcast 10.07.2026 30min

In this episode host Jacob Reynolds is joined by MCC Brussels research fellow Richard Schenk and Carl Deconinck of Brussels Signal to discuss the growing struggle over democracy, surveillance and political opposition in Europe. First, the panel turns to Marine Le Pen and the French presidential race. With Le Pen again able to contemplate a 2027 run but facing the extraordinary prospect of campaigning under an electronic ankle monitor, Carl and Richard ask whether France is witnessing neutral ...

Europe’s War on the Car I MCC Brussels Deep Dive 08.07.2026 24min

For more than a century, the car has expanded personal freedom, economic opportunity and independence. Yet across Europe, policymakers increasingly treat driving itself as a problem to be managed away. In this MCC Brussels Deep Dive, John O’Brien speaks to Brussels lobbyist Conor Allen about Europe’s growing hostility to the car, from traffic policies designed to discourage driving to the regulatory push for electric vehicles. Allen argues that too much transport policy is now driven by polit...

Aircon: the new political divide? I MCC Brussels Podcast 03.07.2026 30min

In this episode, why has air conditioning suddenly become a political dividing line in Europe? Will Ireland’s EU presidency push Brussels further into NGO funding, speech regulation and woke priorities? And is the crisis at Volkswagen a warning of what the Green Deal is doing to Europe’s industrial base? Host Jacob Reynolds is joined by Richard Schenk and James Holland, a parliamentary adviser and long-time Brussels observer, to discuss the week’s biggest political stories from inside the EU ...

Brussels Is Expanding Its War on Free Speech I MCC Brussels Podcast 26.06.2026 36min

In this episode: Is the Democracy Shield really about protecting elections from foreign interference, or about policing dissent at home? Ten years after Brexit, did the EU learn from Britain’s revolt, or double down on the federalist habits that caused it? And why is Brussels talking to the Taliban - realpolitik at last, or geopolitical naivety dressed up as diplomacy? Host Jacob Reynolds is joined by Frank Furedi, MCC Brussels’ executive director, and Dr Philipp Siegert, our deputy research...

Hungary’s New Government Launches Its Anti-Orbán Purge I MCC Brussels Podcast 19.06.2026 26min

In this episode: is Péter Magyar restoring Hungarian democracy, or using constitutional power to remove his main rival? Does the export controls and shutdown of Anthropic’s Mythos model show how desperately far behind the EU is on cutting-edge technology? And has the EU Transparency Register become a neutral accountability tool, or a bureaucratic weapon against dissenting voices in Brussels? Host Jacob Reynolds is joined by Richard Schenk and Javier Villamor, Brussels-based EU/NATO corr...

Europe’s Energy Delusion: Can Brussels Keep the Lights On? I MCC Brussels Deep Dive 17.06.2026 35min

In this MCC Brussels Deep Dive, John O’Brien speaks to Professor Samuele Furfari, one of Europe’s most experienced voices on energy policy. Furfari spent decades inside the European Commission working on energy and sustainable development. His warning is blunt: Europe’s energy crisis did not begin with the war in Ukraine. It began when EU policymakers abandoned the old priority of cheap, abundant and secure energy, and replaced it with a decarbonisation-first agenda. For decades, European ene...

Riots, Migration and Crime: Belgium’s Crisis Is a Warning to Europe I MCC Brussels Podcast 12.06.2026 34min

In this episode, is Belgium becoming a warning sign for the rest of Europe? Has the EU’s obsession with digital regulation made Europeans technologically weaker? And are American conservatives right to call out Europe’s migration crisis, or is Europe being talked down to again? Host Jacob Reynolds is joined by MCC’s Richard Schenk and Lennert Van Hauwermeiren from the Flemish Institute for Policy and Strategy to discuss migration, state authority, digital control and the growing tensions betw...

The End of the Western Alliance? I MCC Brussels Podcast 05.06.2026 33min

In this episode: Is Trump’s 4 July deadline a tariff threat, or a demand for reciprocity from Brussels? Can “remigration” be defined as lawful return policy without sliding into something more dangerous? And do the Paris riots after PSG’s Champions League victory expose a deeper crisis of law, order and elite denial in Europe’s cities? Host Jacob Reynolds is joined by Richard Schenk and Paul McCarthy, Senior Research Fellow in European Affairs at the Heritage Foundation. First, the panel turn...

Can Belgium Be Fixed? I MCC Brussels Podcast 29.05.2026 33min

In this episode: is Bart de Wever’s Belgium a genuine model for reform, or a warning about how difficult reform has become? Has Europe really shifted right on migration, deportations and return hubs? And as Brussels demands more money for defence, Ukraine, migration and industrial policy, who is actually going to pay? Host John O’Brien is joined by Dr Philipp Siegert from MCC Brussels and Carl Deconinck of Brussels Signal to discuss the political pressures now shaping Belgium and the wider Eu...

Why The Establishment Fears Populism 22.05.2026 33min

Britain’s political class thought populism could be contained through censorship, speaker bans and moral blackmail. Instead, the revolt is spreading. In this episode, host John O’Brien is joined by Frank Furedi and Richard Schenk to examine the growing divide between Europe’s governing elites and ordinary citizens. From the huge “Unite the Kingdom” rally in London to Brussels’ ideological campaigns, the discussion explores why millions of Europeans increasingly feel politically homeless. Firs...

The Brexit Revolt Is Back I MCC Brussels Podcast 15.05.2026 27min

In this episode: Has Reform UK’s surge shattered Britain’s old Labour-Conservative order? Are the UN and EU using migration policy to weaken national control over borders? And has Eurovision become yet another stage for anti-Israel politics? Host Jacob Reynolds is joined by Richard Schenk and Barbara Bonte, MEP for Vlaams Belang in the Patriots for Europe group. First, the panel turns to the local and regional elections in the UK, where Reform UK’s breakthrough has thrown Keir Starmer and t...

Germany Is Becoming Ungovernable I MCC Brussels Podcast 08.05.2026 36min

Germany’s governing centre is cracking, Europe’s energy follies are becoming impossible to ignore, and Brussels is spending millions telling citizens it protects democracy. In this episode, we ask whether Friedrich Merz survive Germany’s deepening political and economic crisis. Is Belgium’s nuclear U-turn a sign that common sense is finally returning to European energy policy? And what does the EU’s “Protect What Matters” campaign reveal about the widening gap between Brussels’ rhetoric and i...

Can Anyone Stop the EU Commission? I MCC Brussels Podcast 01.05.2026 24min

The European Commission has mutated from a body of cooperation into a monster that even its own founders no longer recognise. Host Jacob Reynolds is joined by Carl Deconinck of the Brussels Signal and MCC Brussels’ Richard Schenk to discuss a week of institutional overreach in the European capital. They break down the flurry of proposals to rein in Ursula von der Leyen, the prospect of "climate lockdowns" as energy prices soar, and the plans for an eye-watering €2 trillion EU budget. Taming t...

Child access to trans ideology: The EU’s new “right" 24.04.2026 38min

The European Court of Justice has issued a first-of-its-kind ruling against Hungary, declaring its child-protection laws in breach of “fundamental EU values”. Celebrated in Brussels as progress, it raises a more troubling question: has the Court just claimed the power to define Europe’s moral compas? In this episode, Jacob Reynolds, Richard Schenk, and special guest Stephen Bartulica MEP break down the ECJ’s judicial activism, the "pro-Russia" panic over the Bulgarian elections, and th...

The EU’s plans for Hungary after Orbán I MCC Brussels Podcast 17.04.2026 28min

Viktor Orbán’s 16-year tenure with a landslide victory. While the Berlaymont and the European mainstream celebrate the fall of their favourite villain, the MCC Brussels team digs into the uncomfortable reality of what this means for the European Right and the future of national sovereignty. In this episode, Jacob Reynolds, Tony Gilland, and Agnieszka Kolek break down the strategic lessons of the Fidesz defeat, the "Net Zero" fuel insurgency currently paralysing Ireland, and the Poland’s magi...

How Patriots Forced Deportations Back onto the EU Agenda I MCC Brussels Podcast 10.04.2026 31min

Brussels does not change course lightly. When it does, it is usually forced. This week, something shifted. Jacob Reynolds is joined by Marieke Ehlers MEP and Agnieszka Kołek to dissect a rare moment where the European Parliament moved in a direction voters have been demanding for years. A tougher return regime has been backed, giving member states the tools to send illegal migrants back and reassert some control over their borders. The Return Regime Breakthrough On migration, so...

Why Social Democracy Is Dying Across Europe I MCC Brussels Podcast 03.04.2026 44min

Europe’s old parties are losing their voters, free speech is coming under pressure, and trust in the media is collapsing. In this episode, we look at three fault lines running through European politics. Why are the old social democratic parties no longer the natural home of workers? What happens when courts and governments begin narrowing the space for moral and political dissent? And why are so many voters losing faith in the media narratives pushed around major elections? Host John O’Brie...

The Hollow Flag: Why No One Will Die for Brussels | Deep Dive 01.04.2026 31min

While the Brussels machine churns out endless reports on "Strategic Autonomy," the reality on the ground different. Professor Bill Durodié joins us to expose the cavernous gap between EU security rhetoric and the stark reality of a continent that has forgotten how to inspire its own people to defend it. Is there anyone left in the Berlaymont who understands that a flag without a demos is just a piece of cloth? The Hollow Flag & The Crisis of Patriotism The EU’s attempt to man...

Don’t blame Iran war for Europe’s energy disaster I MCC Brussels Podcast 27.03.2026 31min

The war in Iran didn’t create Europe’s energy crisis, it hit a continent already drowning in Green energy chaos and sky-high taxes. This week on the podcast, John O'Brien sits down with Rebecca Mistereggen and Richard Schenk to discuss the energy fallout of the Iran war, the judicial sabotage of democratic mandates in Italy, the rising tide of Islamist extremism on our doorsteps, and the cynical elite hunt for Brussels power in Norway and Iceland. The Energy Tax Heist: Richard argues that wh...