Visegrad Insight Podcast
VIP is the number one podcast on Central Europe from Central Europe. Hosted by editors of the Visegrad Insight – Res Publica Foundation, Warsaw, Poland. We are the main platform of debate and analysis on Central Europe. Questions, feedback and ideas: contact@visegradinsight.eu
How Can Europe Compete with China? Time Is Running Out
Europe is becoming a central battleground in the global contest over economic security. As the US and China de-risk from one another, the EU is under growing pressure to defend its market, reduce strategic dependencies and decide how far it is willing to go in confronting Beijing.
In this episode, Wojciech Przybylski speaks with Camille Boullenois, Associate Director at Rhodium Group, who argues that Europe is far from powerless. Its market size and control over key high-tech inputs give it substantial leverage, but that leverage will matter only if European governments are prepared to use it.
<...Can Europe Protect Its Borders Without Dividing Itself?
Europe’s borders may be thousands of kilometres apart, but the challenges they face are increasingly connected.
In this episode, Wojciech Przybylski speaks with Marc Lopez Plana, editor and director of Agenda Pública, about the recent migration crisis involving Spain and Morocco, the role of social media and disinformation in amplifying political tensions, and the parallels with migration pressures experienced by Poland, Lithuania and Latvia on their borders with Belarus.
López argues that the crisis has pushed migration to the centre of Spain’s political debate ahead of the 2027 elections, while forcing the countr...
NATO Research Director on Europe’s Security Future
Europe’s security order is evolving, but is the Old Continent still able to build the capabilities, resilience and political confidence needed to defend it?
Wojciech Przybylski speaks with Florence Gaub, Director of the Research Division at the NATO Defence College, about Europe’s changing security environment, the limits of old assumptions and the need for strategic foresight.
Gaub, who leads research on future challenges relevant to NATO, argues that Europe does not need a new security architecture. NATO and the EU already provide one, but Europeans must now take far greater responsibility for their own...
Who Is Competing for Influence in Europe? | Dimitar Bechev
Europe is no longer only shaping its neighbourhood. It is also an arena where Turkey, China and Russia pursue competing strategies to influence the continent.
In this episode, Wojciech Przybylski speaks with Dimitar Bechev, Senior Fellow at Carnegie Europe, about his new book 'The Scramble for Europe: Russia, China, and Turkey Challenging Regional Order'.
Bechev argues that Russia, China and Turkey should not be treated as a coherent anti-European bloc, as each pursues a distinct strategy. Russia seeks to revise the European order, China aims to deepen Europe’s economic dependence and Turkey seeks a mo...
Is Hungary a Spin Democracy? Magyar’s First 100 Days
Péter Magyar’s first 100 days in office have already brought a wave of institutional change and reforms aimed at breaking with Orbán’s system in Hungary. The new government is still enjoying strong public backing, prolonging Magyar’s honeymoon so far. But how long can it last?
Wojciech Przybylski returns to speak with Péter Krekó about Hungary’s transition after TISZA took power. Krekó assesses Magyar’s first 100 days in office, the government’s push to reshape the rule of law and democratic institutions in Hungary.
00:00 Introduction01:03 Péter Magyar’s political...
Kubilius: Europe Free-Rode on America for 30 Years. Ukraine Changed That
In just three years, Ukraine scaled its annual defence production from roughly one billion euros to 50 billion euros. The EU Commissioner for Defence and Space argues that a combination of digital talent, demand-side doctrinal change and civil society mobilisation drove that transformation, and that the EU has not yet matched this model and therefore needs to bring Ukraine into its defence thinking.
At the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdańsk on 26 June 2026, Visegrad Insight editor-in-chief Wojciech Przybylski sat down with European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius for a wide-ranging conversation on what Europe can – and must...
Visegrád Is Back and Magyar Wants It Bigger
The conversation covers Péter Magyar's outreach to Warsaw, Prague and Bratislava, the proposed V4 plus Austria configuration and Magyar's wider ambition of adding four more partners, with Romania, Slovenia and Croatia named as candidates.
Przybylski and Krekó weigh the strategic realignment between Poland and Hungary on Russia and Ukraine, the limits of that convergence over enlargement and fast-tracking, as well as the lingering memory politics dispute between Warsaw and Budapest.
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Friends on Ukraine's Terms? Hungary Drops Its Veto
Hungary has dropped its two-year veto on Ukraine's European Union accession, clearing the way for the first cluster of negotiations to open in mid-June.
Recorded on 6 June 2026 in Cres, Croatia, on the sidelines of the Europe's Future Initiative fellows gathering, Wojciech Przybylski talks to Balázs Jarábik about the deal that ended the deadlock between Hungary and Ukraine. Jarábik is an award-winning analyst and decorated diplomat. He is the founder of Minority Report, an independent policy consulting firm and think tank based in Bratislava, Slovakia.
The conversation then opens out into three tracks. Fir...
What Baltic Drone Incursions Really Mean for the Region
Drone incursions over the Baltic states have caused their first major political casualty: the collapse of Latvia's government following the resignation of Defence Minister Andris Sprūds. But is the political fallout proportionate to the actual threat? And what do Baltic societies make of it all?
Wojciech Przybylski speaks with Dmitri Teperik, Resilient Futures Fellow at Visegrad Insight, joining from Narva on the Russian border. They discuss the political immaturity driving overreactions, the gap in intelligence-sharing with Ukraine, Russian disinformation framing the attacks as Baltic-originated, and the 18-month window before the Baltic Drone Wall becomes operational in e...
What Trump-Xi Summit Means for Taiwan and the CEE Region
What did Donald Trump actually achieve in Beijing, and what does it signal for Taiwan and the security of Central Europe?
Wojciech Przybylski, Editor-in-Chief of Visegrad Insight, is joined by Marcin Jerzewski, Visegrad Insight Fellow and Head of the European Values Center for Security Policy think tank in Taipei, to unpack the outcomes of the Trump-Xi summit of 17–18 May 2026.
They examine China's use of discourse power to shape the narrative around Taiwan, the strategic ambiguity now surrounding US arms sales, diverging EU member state approaches to China, and the concrete ways Central Europe and Taiwan ca...
Bulgaria Has Its Strongman. Who Will Rumen Radev Turn Out to Be?
Bulgaria has its most decisive electoral shift in a generation. But who is Rumen Radev — reformer or risk?
Wojciech Przybylski is joined by Spasimir Domaradzki, assistant professor at the University of Warsaw and Visegrad Insight Fellow, for an immediate post-election assessment recorded on 20 April 2026, less than 24 hours after the results.
They examine Radev's two faces: his track record of pro-Russian positioning and ambiguous statements on Ukraine versus his image as an anti-corruption outsider and former fighter jet pilot; the collapse of state-capture actors Boyko Borisov and Delyan Peevski; and whether Bulgaria could follow Hungary's trajectory as...
Hungary’s Revolution of Dignity. What's in it for Europe?
Hungary’s historic parliamentary election on 12 April 2026 produced a landslide result, with Peter Magyar's Tisza party winning a supermajority with 136 seats in the 199-seat National Assembly and leaving just 57 seats for Viktor Orbán's Fidesz–KDNP. Almost 80 per cent of Hungarians cast a ballot, with a narrow majority voting for change.
In this episode, Wojciech Przybylski speaks with Luca Flora Soltesz, a Budapest-based contributing editor at Visegrad Insight, about what this change means for Hungary and for Europe as a whole, how a new generation of voters helped decide Orban's future and what Hungarians feel and speak...
Is Globalisation Over? | Elisabeth Braw on Tariffs, China and Europe's Trade Future
One year after US President Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariff announcements, Wojciech Przybylski speaks with Elisabeth Braw, Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council and author of Goodbye Globalisation, about the accelerating unravelling of the global trading order.
They discuss whether globalisation can be reprogrammed, why China is winning the game of economic statecraft, how the United States has undermined the very coalition needed to counter Beijing, and what realistic strategies Europe has left — from the Mercosur deal to manufacturing partnerships with India, Vietnam and the Philippines.
The conversation also turns to the maritime order and ho...
What Ukrainians Really Think About Orbán?
As Hungary ramps up pressure over oil transit, sanctions and European support for Kyiv, Yuliia Dziuba joins Wojciech Przybylski to explain how these moves are received in Ukraine. From the Druzhba pipeline dispute to Viktor Orbán’s political calculus, this episode examines whether Budapest is merely obstructing or actively weakening European solidarity at a critical moment in Russia's war against Ukraine.
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Watch on YouTube:https://youtu.be/Kutbtk5cIRkListen on Spotify: Listen on Apple Podcasts:
Poland Quits the Landmine Ban: What Happens Next?
Poland is withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention and debating landmines on its eastern border. At the same time, nuclear ‘sharing’ ideas are resurfacing as Europe scrambles to rebuild deterrence.
In this episode, Wojciech Przybylski speaks with Agata Kleczkowska, assistant professor at the Institute of Law Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences and a Resilient Future Fellow, about where security policy ends and international law begins.
We cover:
- What Poland’s exit from the landmine ban signals for Central Europe
- Civilian protection, deterrence and th...
Orbán’s Decisions Aren't Made in Budapest
Budapest is accusing Kyiv of delaying repairs to the Druzhba pipeline and threatening to restrict electricity and diesel exports to Ukraine while blocking EU measures to support Kyiv. But are these decisions really made by Viktor Orbán in Budapest, or are they shaped elsewhere?
In this episode, Wojciech Przybylski speaks with Visegrad Insight fellow Zsuzsanna Szabó, an energy and geostrategy expert based in Oslo, about Hungary’s deep dependency on Russian crude, the political economy of MOL’s margins and the ‘utility bill reduction fund’, and why the Druzhba standoff hits the Hungarian government where it hurts ahea...
Europe is Preparing. The Baltics Want Action
In this Visegrad Insight podcast, Wojciech Przybylski speaks with Sigita Struberga (Latvian Transatlantic Organisation, Organisation Women for Security) about what the 2026 Munich Security Conference revealed about Europe’s strategic direction, defence-industrial reality and the eastern flank’s expectations of partners.
We discuss:
– Why ‘national interests’ rhetoric is back and what it means for the Euro-Atlantic community
– ‘Rearmament without warmongering’ and the politics of long war preparation
– Baltic ‘total defence’ thinking, societal resilience and the demand for measurable results
– EU defence industry modernisation and the coming competition inside Europe
Read Sigita Struberga...
Ukraine's Economy is Growing Despite Genocide
Wojciech Przybylski speaks with Maria Repko, Deputy Director at the Centre for Economic Strategy in Kyiv, about how Ukraine’s economy functions under winter blackouts, missile attacks and a war-driven defence industry boom.
In this episode:
– What daily life looks like in Kyiv at -20 degrees with rationed electricity and broken heating
– Why Ukrainians reject the ‘resilience’ label and what it obscures
– Poland–Ukraine cooperation after Donald Tusk’s visit and the shift from ‘emotional’ to ‘rational’ politics
– The SAFE mechanism, EU defence funding and why Ukraine’s defence industry iterates faster
– What to expect from the...
Is Czechia Heading Towards Constitutional Crisis? Pavel-Macinka Conflict and Its Impact
President Petr Pavel accuses Foreign Minister Petr Macinka of blackmail, triggering what may become an emerging constitutional crisis.
In this videocast, Wojciech Przybylski and Pavel Havlíček discuss what the scandal means for Czech foreign policy, defence spending and the stability of Andrej Babiš’s coalition, including the influence of the ‘motorists’ movement and Filip Turek.
Read the text version of the interview: https://visegradinsight.eu/macinka-pavel-scandal-cohabitation-czechia/
Our analysis on the topic: https://visegradinsight.eu/political-cohabitation-in-czechia-turns-into-a-house-of-cards-play/
Pavel Havlíček is a 2021/2022 Marcin Król Fellow at Visegrad Insight. He is also a Research F...
The World after Davos 2026: Implications for Central and Eastern Europe
Wojciech Przybylski talks with Radu Albu-Comanescu (Babeș-Bolyai University, Visegrad Insight Fellow) about what the World Economic Forum revealed about geostrategy, defence and the new rules of engagement from Washington, with uncomfortable implications for Central and Eastern Europe.
In this episode:
– Why this Davos felt ‘geopolitically consistent’
– Reactions to the ‘Board of Peace’ idea from Central and Eastern Europe
– Greenland and the High NorthRomania and Poland’s balancing act: economic security in the European Union, hard security with the United States
The China question Europe k...
The Last Year of War or Peace - Foresight for 2026
Is 2026 the last year of war or the first year of peace in Europe?
In this Visegrad Insight online discussion, Monika Sus and Wojciech Przybylski map out the key forecasts for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in 2026 and beyond: where democratic security is most vulnerable, and what ‘war fatigue’ and hybrid warfare can do to elections and institutions.
The conversation weighs plausible 2026 scenarios for the Russia-Ukraine war, including the risks of a ‘pause’ rather than a settlement, and assesses how the United States, Russia and China shape Europe’s security s...
'Make Europe Great Again' and the Cross-border Network Behind Karol Nawrocki
In this Visegrad Insight podcast episode, Wojciech Przybylski speaks with Anna Gielewska of @vsquare_project about a cross-border investigation with Front Story and Context Romania.
They discuss alleged undeclared online support linked to Romanian far-right politician George Simion during Karol Nawrocki’s presidential campaign, what can and cannot be proven, and why Poland’s rules on in-kind support look outdated in the platform era.
The conversation also touches on the United States National Security Strategy and the European Union debate on a Democracy Shield.
This podcast is supported by the 4-year Euro...
Hungary's Battery Bet and Europe's Green Transition – Weiler Vilmos
Does the European Union have an ‘intelligent’ green strategy that is failing in practice while Hungary pursues a ‘dumb’ one that seems to work?
In this episode of the Visegrad Insight Podcast, Wojciech Przybylski speaks with Hungarian journalist Vilmos Weiler about the surge of Chinese and Korean battery investments in Hungary and what this means for European competitiveness, economic security and environmental safety.
This podcast is a part of our Europe Future Forum Polish-Hungarian Perspectives project. Through a programme of meetings with experts, political advisers and opinion leaders from both countries, we aim to explore Poland’s...
Russian Fossil Fuels, Orbán and the Green Transition
Wojciech Przybylski unpacks the new United States national security strategy and its ‘chaotic hypocrisy’ towards Europe, then turns to Hungary to ask what an honest energy transition would really look like.
In conversation with Ada Ámon, executive director of the Budapest Climate Agency, this episode explores:
– How deeply Hungary is locked into Russian oil, gas and nuclear fuel– Why successive governments chose cheap energy over efficiency and resilience
– How Hungarian households have already shown they can cut consumption by twenty to thirty per cent
– How EU funds were diverted away from citizens and...
Orbán’s favourite villain? How Ukraine hijacked Hungarian politics
Why is Ukraine plastered across Hungary’s billboards and campaign ads as if it were on the ballot itself? And what does Viktor Orbán really gain from keeping Volodymyr Zelensky in the minds, hearts and social media algorithms of Hungarians?
In this episode of the Visegrad Insight Podcast, Wojciech Przybylski speaks with Viktória Serdült, journalist at HVG in Budapest, about how Ukraine became the central prop of Hungary’s permanent election campaign.
Together they discuss:
How the ‘pro-war / pro-peace’ propaganda line turned into a full-blown anti-Ukraine campaign in HungaryWhy Zelensky, Ursula von der Leyen an...Can Elections Break Orbán’s State-Made Oligarchy?
In April 2026, Hungarians go to the polls again. The choice is framed as ‘war and peace’ by Viktor Orbán, and ‘corruption and oligarchy’ by Péter Magyar. But is Hungary’s real problem that its oligarchs are not independent tycoons at all, but extensions of the state itself?
In this Visegrad Insight videocast, Wojciech Przybylski speaks with two insiders of Hungary’s economic and political transformation: former central banker and regional investment banker András Simor and former economy minister and governor of the National Bank of Hungary Péter Ákos Bod.
This podcast joins the series...
‘Nationalism in Banking is Simply Stupid’: Can Central Europe Lead Europe’s Next Boom?
In this episode of the Visegrad Insight Podcast, Tomasz Kasprowicz speaks with Andreas Treichl, chair of Erste Foundation and former chief executive of Erste Group Bank, about the future of banking, capital markets and pensions in Central and Eastern Europe.
Learn more about Europe Future Forum: https://europefuture.forum/
📌 What is inside this episode:
Why Central and Eastern Europe was unfairly branded the 'wild East' after the financial crisis
How unfinished banking union, weak capital markets and poor pension design hold the EU back
Why...
Europe’s Trade Storm with Jarno Syrjälä
Finland’s Under-Secretary of State for International Trade, Jarno Syrjälä, joins Tomasz Kasprowicz, Vice-President of the Res Publica Foundation, to unpack how smaller European states navigate a harsher economic security environment.
We discuss European Union trade unity under stress, the US–China rivalry, China’s rare earth leverage and why dialogue and flexible processes still matter. We also cover Finland’s shift after joining NATO in 2023, economic security, resilient supply chains and the balance between openness and strategic foresight.
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4ts8BzOjNuY
Listen on Spot...
Münchau on Europe’s Trade Traps
Economic security alert. Wolfgang Münchau, co-founder and director of Eurointelligence, and author of ‘Kaput: The End of the German Miracle’ book, pulls no punches in an exclusive interview with Wojciech Przybylski – Germany’s mercantilist miracle is over, China now out-competes on quality, and Europe’s economic security hangs by fragile threads.
From rare-earth chokeholds to failing diversification, Münchau and Przybylski expose why grand EU programmes mask a deeper inability to secure critical supply chains and strategic autonomy – Brussels and Berlin still opt for slogans over strategy.
So what Central Europe must do to escape the fal...
Do They Still Dream? 94% Say Yes – Dreams, Fears & Resilience in Poland’s First Ever Dreams Report
What do 94% of Poles dream about in 2025 – and how are their fears shaping the future?
Next to the weekly democratic and economic security outlook, in this episode of the Visegrad Insight Podcast, recorded live at the Freedom Games in Łódź, Maia Mazurkiewicz – CEO of the PZU Foundation, part of the biggest Polish insurance company – unveils the first-ever comprehensive report on the dreams of Poles: “Czy Polacy potrafią marzyć?” (Do Poles Know How to Dream?), commissioned by her organisation.
Despite war on the border, economic pressure, and global uncertainty, 93.5% of Poles still dream – and this groundbreaking study reveals wha...
Why Trump, Putin, Orbán want to meet in Budapest?
On 16 October 2025, Budapest was announced as a centrepiece of global diplomacy when the US President declared that his Russian counterpart had called to discuss peace in Ukraine, apparently triggered by Tomahawk diplomacy. But what are the real motivations behind Vladimir Putin's and Donald Trump's visits to Hungary, a key EU and NATO member state, just months before Hungary's elections? And what are Viktor Orbán's hopes and fears regarding this plan? Can the war end their way – without participation of Zelenskyy or other European leaders?
Wojciech Przybylski hosts Botond Feledy from Red Snow Consultancy who unpacks a mult...
Piotr Matczuk – Poland’s Investment Traffic Manager
A quick overview of weekly developments and a special guest speaker of the Europe Future Forum.
Tune in for an insightful conversation with Piotr Matczuk, CEO of the Polish Development Fund (PFR), as he discusses PFR’s pivotal role as Poland’s 'investment traffic manager.' Learn how PFR facilitates capital flows, supports Polish businesses in their international expansion, and attracts global investors to strategic projects in Poland and beyond, including initiatives like Team Poland for Ukraine. Matczuk shares how PFR drives economic resilience, fosters green transitions, and bolsters Poland’s position among the world’s top economie...
Transatlantic Spin – Visegrad 24, Middle East 24, and the Rise of Far-Right Media Narratives
Readings:
A New Gaza Rage Machine – with Polish Origins by Iván László Nagy https://visegradinsight.eu/a-new-gaza-rage-machine-with-polish-origins/
This Polish-German Border Community Still Believes In The European Miracle – LONG READ by Staś Kaleta: https://visegradinsight.eu/this-polish-german-border-community-still-believes-in-the-european-miracle-long-read/
Explore the global impact of Polish far-right media in this episode of the Visegrad Insight podcast. Host Wojciech Przybylski, with investigative journalists Ivan L. Nagy and Staś Kaleta, uncovers the origins and influence of Visegrad 24, a controversial “news aggregator” turned digital powerhouse, now expanding with Middle East 24. Learn how these platforms fuel nationalist n...
Can Europe Control Its Security In The Age of AI?
In this episode, Raluca Csernatoni shares her vision for the future of defence – what power and security mean in a world of new technologies and big tech. We also give our overview of regional events, including an informal defence summit in Copenhagen, and elections in Moldova and Czechia.
Raluca is a Research Fellow working on the nexus between European defence and emerging disruptive technologies like AI at Carnegie Europe. Staś Kaleta conducted the interview on the sidelines of our Europe Future Forum: https://europefuture.forum/.
Constanze Stelzenmüller: Why US Big Tech is The Biggest Danger to Europe
In this episode, listen to what Constanze Stelzenmüller has to say about the biggest threats to European security. Constanze is the Director of the Center on the US and Europe and Fritz Stern Chair at The Brookings Institution. She was also a speaker at our Europe Future Forum 2025: https://europefuture.forum/
We also have our regular overview of regional dynamics, including upcoming elections, further Russian airspace incursions – and the Polish President and Deputy PM travelling to New York together, but on separate planes.
Between Washington and Beijing: Europe’s Dilemma as Wang Yi Visits Warsaw
This week, Staś Kaleta is joined by Noah Barkin to discuss the EU's strategy for China – after Donald Trump’s NATO ultimatum demanding China tariffs, as well as Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to Poland. Barkin is a Senior Advisor in Rhodium Group’s China practice and a Visiting Senior Fellow in the Indo-Pacific Programme at the German Marshall Fund.
This podcast was recorded in Warsaw on the sidelines of our Europe Future Forum, a platform to explore the Polish perspective on key European issues. It invites the participation of 200+ policymakers, directors of public policies and other inf...
Russian War Games, NATO Drills in the Baltics and the Cost of Readiness
This week, as media reports suggest that the US is considering withdrawing its troops from the Baltics, we break down what presence the US really has on NATO’s eastern flank. We look at the large-scale military exercises being led by other NATO allies in the Baltics – in symbolic opposition to the joint Zapad drills of Russia and Belarus – as well as the fiscal difficulties European countries now face trying to fund greater defence spending. We discuss this in the context of Russian sanctions, as Europe prepares a 19th package of measures, but many countries maintain business ties with Moscow...
Nawrocki Visits The White House: Statesman or Sideshow?
This week, we look ahead to Karol Nawrocki’s visit to the White House, the first foreign trip of his presidency, which comes amid growing tensions between the presidential office and the government at home. We also comment on Robert Fico’s and Aleksandar Vučić’s expected attendance in Beijing for China’s military parade – siding with a revisionist alliance that forces countries like Poland to push record defence budgets.
Why Was Poland Not Present in Washington?
In this episode, we break down a rollercoaster week for Ukraine – from the meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska, to Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Washington yesterday. We also try to explain why no leaders from central or eastern Europe were included in the group of heads of state to accompany Zelenskyy.
Europe Braces For Trump-Putin Alaska Meet
In this week’s episode, we look at how Central European leaders are positioning themselves ahead of a pivotal meeting in Alaska – between Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, but no Volodymyr Zelenskyy. We also break down Karol Nawrocki’s first week as President of Poland, and what to expect from his visit to Washington on 3 September.
