Shocking scenes played out in Amsterdam with the apparent hunting down of Jews in the city's streets following a football game. Tensions have risen in France also surrounding a national game between the French and the Israelis. Far from being an incidence of simple hooliganism, this seems to represent a dark strain of Islamism that been allowed to take root in European cities. At the same time, Germany's government has collapsed, with new elections in the New Year. This follows months of...
Trump has surprised the world and shocked elites across the West. He's promised a new golden age for America - his opponents cry hysterically that it's a turn to fascism.But the remarkable victory showed Trump's ability to reach out to ordinary people, and new voters like Hispanics and African-Americans, going beyond the narrow identity-politics categories of gender, skin colour, ethnicity or geography. In fact, the success of the MAGA movement is also a clear act of defiance against the...
Under pressure from populists across the continent, EU elites seem to be changing their tune slightly on migration. Or are they? This week, we dig into the controversy around Polish PM Donald Tusk's suspension of asylum and a court decision that has thrown Italy's immigration plans into turmoil.The team also discuss what Moldova's referendum to join the EU says about European geopolitics, new proposals to hand more power to the European Parliament, and the involvement of the European Commissi...
In this episode of Deep Dives, John O'Brien sits down with Dr. Göran Adamson to discuss MCC Brussels' latest report: Multiculturalism in Flames: Sweden's rude awakening. The conversation takes a look at how mass migration has fundamentally transformed Swedish society. From crime to political freedom, and social cohesion to corruption, a toxic combination of state policies of multiculturalism and extreme levels of migration have caused serious issues in Sweden. Join us as we examine ...
The European Parliament was witness to a truly remarkable scene this week. Ursula von Der Leyen launched an unprecedented attack on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, as Orbán was supposed to be outlining the themes of the Hungarian Presidency of the European Council. In a show of her imperial ambitions, Queen Ursula led an incredible attempt not just to undermine Orbán, but humiliate the Hungarian people. One or Orbán's themes for the Presidency was supposed to be competitiveness, a...
The events of October 7 last year should have shocked the world. A barbaric attack on Jews, carried out by Hamas terrorists and other Islamist militants, resulted in perhaps the worst act of Jew-killing since the Holocaust. Yet in the days, weeks, and months after that fateful day, we have witnessed a shocking series of equivocations, denials and outright apology for the unprecedented violence of Hamas militants. On top of this, as Israel has sought to destroy the terrorists who killed, ...
In this episode, Jacob Reynolds is joined by our policy analyst Bence Szabo and our head of cultural engagement Agnieszka Kołek to dive into the results from the Austrian elections, where the mainstream parties are engaged in a desperate attempt to install another cordon sanitaire to block the election-winning Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ). We also take stock of the recent escalations in the middle-East, where Israel's ground invasion of Lebanon to defend itself against Hezbollah has draw...
In this episode of Deep Dives, John O'Brien interviews Thomas Fazi about his latest report, "The Silent Coup: The European Commission's Power Grab". Fazi's report examines how the European Commission has gradually amassed greater power and authority over the sovereign nations of the European Union. He argues that, through a series of crises—including the sovereign debt crisis, the refugee crisis, Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine—the Commission has quietly transferred...
In this episode of Deep Dives, Jacob Reynolds talks to Frank Füredi about his latest book "The War Against the Past".His book aims to shed light on the systematic attempt to delegitimise the ideals and accomplishments of Western civilisation. Its advocates may see it as a cultural imperative, but a society that loses touch with its past will face a permanent identity crisis. Dismantling the wisdom our historical inheritance provides means betraying humanity’s positive achievements. Challengin...
A special edition of the podcast - we've gone bilingual! Édition spéciale : notre podcast devient bilingue !We're joined by Jérôme Munier, founder of the populist party Chez Nous, a new party seeking to shake things up in Wallonia. In this episode, we interview with Jérôme in French about his experience setting up the party, and then reflect (in English) on why Belgium needs a challenge to the woke orthodoxy and how the Belgian political establishment are stifling free speech.Nous accuei...
In this special episode - live from MCC Feszt in Esztergom, Hungary - we talk to Joanna Williams about her new report 'Sexualising Children? The rise of Comprehensive Sexuality Education'.Joanna explains how a new paradigm has taken hold in schools - a radical new idea of how to teach sex education. This approach (Comprehensive Sexuality Education, CSE) obsesses with promoting the idea that children are sexual beings and that their sexual pleasure is paramountAs we learn, CSE is designed to b...
In this episode of Deep Dives John O'Brien talks to Richard J Schenk, Research Fellow at MCC Brussels, about his report 'The Silent War on Farming - How EU policies are destroying our agriculture’. The report explains how, under the guise of environmental concerns, European regulation has slowly squeezed farmers – especially livestock farmers – to breaking point. The report examines the transformation of European agricultural policy into a tool of environmental policy as farms disappear acros...
The election in France has become a desperate scramble by the establishment to keep out the Rassemblement National. But the cordon sanitaire no longer works. We also ask: As Hungary assumes the EU presidency, what can we anticipate from Viktor Orbán, and what do the UK elections hold? We end by asking why have the European Championship games been so dull?Joining Jacob Reynolds are:Professor Frank Füredi, Executive Director MCC BrusselsRichard Schenk, Research Fellow
The rise of the populist National Rally has EU technocrats in an uproar and they are trying everything to stifle popular anger. The team delve into why this election is so pivotal for France - and for Europe. Then, we turn our attention to the "Green Coup" in the EU council which forced through the controversial Nature Restoration Act. We finish with a discussion of the emerging shape of political groups in the new European Parliament.Joining Jacob Reynolds are:Professor Frank Füredi, Executi...
A special live edition of the podcast where MCC Brussels, friends, and commentators digest the results of the European Parliament elections in a relaxed but intellectually serious environment. When the Brussels Bubble seems so distant from the concerns of ordinary Europeans, our analysis of the election will go beyond the traditional obsessions of the "bubble" and shift from focusing on political group machinations to examining what truly matters in individual nation states.Our speakers inclu...
In this episode of Deep Dives John O'Brian talks to Thomas Fazi about his MCC Brussels report 'Reclaiming Food Sovereignty: An alternative approach to trade and agriculture'. The report explains how EU policies have systematically hindered food production in Europe and argues for a renewed focus on food security.Massive farmers' protests have swept across European countries, largely opposing the European Union’s climate and environmental regulations as manifest in the Green Deal. These p...
Welcome to Deep Dives, a new addition to the MCC Brussels podcast family.In Deep Dives, we let MCC Brussels' esteemed researchers explain in detail their groundbreaking reports, thoughtfully exploring the insights and implications of their work.In our first episode, join MCC Brussels' Jacob Reynolds for an eye-opening interview with Dr. Norman Lewis, author of a groundbreaking report on the EU's approach to online speech. 📚✨A deep dive into the package of laws, regulations, and agreements bet...
Free speech is in big trouble in Europe. In this episode Head of Policy Jacob Reynolds, MCC Brussels Chief of Staff Tony Gilland and Policy Analyst Bence Szabó talk about what happened at NatCon and why MCC Brussels is launching the Free Speech Declaration. Jacob is also joined by Head of Cultural Engagement Agnieszka Kolek to talk about the real reason why the EU has dropped the rule-of-law proceedings against Poland. And finally Jacob, Bence and Senior Research Fellow M...
In this episode, Jacob Reynolds is joined by our executive director Frank Füredi, head of EU Affairs Bence Akos Gat and senior research fellow Arta Moeini. In contemporary political discourse, there is a tendency to classify anything diverging from the left-liberal ideology as "far-right." The team delves into the rationale and ramifications underlying the transformation of the "far-right" label into a potent weapon within modern politics.Next the team talks about the medicalisation of p...
In this episode, Jacob Reynolds is joined by our executive director Frank Füredi, head of communications John O'Brien and research fellow Richard Schenk.Populism is plainly not going anywhere. The group discuss the populist revolt of the Irish referendum and the success in the Portuguese elections of the populist party Chenga. MCC Brussels is holding the conference Is the Future of Europe Populist? on March 21 in Brussels, in order to discuss the meaning and future of populism in Europe.