Where can Europe be independent?

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie speaks to former EU Competition Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager -- now chair of the board at Danish Technical University -- and Ditte Brasso Sørensen, who leads Think Tank EUROPA’s Stocktaking EU project, about how Europe can reduce its dependencies without grasping for the impossible goal of full economic independence. How can the European Union make its state aid framework fit for purpose? Can Europe anchor its own AI companies, and how will the big US firms manage their European business? What is the role of clean technology and critical raw materials in securing the EU’s future? Denmark’s experience of European integration, particularly on key topics such as Greenland and the euro, shows how countries can balance sovereignty with shared purpose. Related research: Brasso Sørensen, D. (2026) 'STOCKTAKING EU - Taking stock of the Commission's first year', EUROPA, available at: Grabbe, H. and J. Zettelmeyer (2024) ‘Not yet Trump-proof: an evaluation of the European Commission’s emerging policy platform’, Policy Brief 03/2025, Bruegel, available at:

You can listen to Where can Europe be independent? online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Where can Europe be independent? is an episode from The Sound of Economics by Bruegel.

This episode is 49:21 long.

This episode was published on Feb 25, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from The Sound of Economics when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.