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EPICENTER seeks to inform the European policy debate and promote the principles of a free society.

07/10/2026

Are we budgeting for yesterday’s priorities?

As MEPs debate the EU’s next long-term budget this morning, Anouk van Brug MEP’s comments on the Multiannual Financial Framework from Conversations in the Epicenter of the EU are worth revisiting.

For decades, a large share of the EU budget has been built around agriculture and cohesion, with other priorities competing for what remains.

But Europe’s strategic environment has changed.

Defence, industrial competitiveness, energy security and innovation are becoming increasingly central to Europe’s resilience. The question is whether the structure of the next MFF reflects that reality.

Are the EU’s spending priorities keeping pace with the world around us?

Watch the full interview on our YouTube channel (link in bio).

07/10/2026

⚡ EU money should build the grids that connect Europe, and leave technology choices to the market.

MEPs debate the next long-term budget this morning. The Commission proposed €1.76 trillion, and Parliament wants around 10% more.

Our new publication by Dr Garvan Walshe finds that renewables backed by storage are often the cheapest baseload power across most of Europe. Big, centrally planned bets like hydrogen and carbon capture keep underperforming, while solar and batteries keep beating forecasts.

To read it, click the link in bio to take you to our website!

06/10/2026

This Friday, tune in to In Conversation With, where IES Europe’s Dr Radu Nechita talks about subsidising energy production that makes no economic or environmental sense.

The price of energy today is driven by expectations for tomorrow. If we truly want affordable energy, the first step is simple: do no harm. Subsidies, price caps, and price controls are not the answer to achieving real affordability.

02/10/2026

Tune into 'In Conversation With' ahead of the launch of the 2026 Timbro Authoritarian Populism Index!

In it, Fundación para el Avance de la Libertad's Juan Pina speaks to Luis Cano on moderate political positions becoming increasingly pushed to the margins. With political divides widening and populism on the rise across Europe, it is crucial to look ahead to what happens when the center does not deliver and extremes inevitably fail.

Link in bio!

01/10/2026

The EU budget should focus on what Europe does best together, such as the single market, trade, defence cooperation and border management. As the Irish Presidency drafts its budget proposal, we hope it hears the member states asking for restraint. Our plan caps the budget at around 1% of EU GNI.

01/10/2026

Europe needs more investment. The Parliament's draft Industrial Accelerator Act report puts more conditions on it. It would cap foreign ownership, require joint ventures and technology transfer, and keep public contracts for EU-made goods. That means higher costs and slower progress. MEPs should keep Europe open for business.

01/10/2026

Is Europe’s approach to AI missing the mark?

IES Europe's Dr Diana Nasulea breaks down the European Commission President's latest State of the Union speech and why its plans for artificial intelligence should be a cause for concern:

🏎️ ‘Pacing the frontier’ lets current market leaders set the speed limit, creating a huge competition problem for everyone else.

🚜 Europe’s core issue isn't a lack of funding, but an overwhelming stack of regulations holding back innovation in factories, hospitals, and farms.

🛣️ Setting up funds and holding meetings won't help, Europe needs to focus on clearing the regulatory road to allow tech businesses to succeed.

Announcing new funds, computing power, or talks with big labs doesn't fix the core problem.

Rather than setting up more discussions or funds, Europe must focus on removing existing rules so businesses can actually put AI to work.

30/09/2026

Solar and batteries are often the cheapest baseload power across much of Europe. What holds them back is slow grid connections, hoarded capacity and hard-to-get finance.

As energy ministers met in Dublin, our new report shows how to fix all three. Cheaper energy comes from more supply and more competition.

30/09/2026

Is Europe’s approach to AI missing the mark?

IES Europe's Diana Nasulea breaks down the European Commission President's latest State of the Union speech and why its plans for artificial intelligence should be a cause for concern:

🏎️ ‘Pacing the frontier’ lets current market leaders set the speed limit, creating a huge competition problem for everyone else.

🚜 Europe’s core issue isn't a lack of funding, but an overwhelming stack of regulations holding back innovation in factories, hospitals, and farms.

🛣️ Setting up funds and holding meetings won't help, Europe needs to focus on clearing the regulatory road to allow tech businesses to succeed.

Announcing new funds, computing power, or talks with big labs doesn't fix the core problem.

Rather than setting up more discussions or funds, Europe must focus on removing existing rules so businesses can actually put AI to work.

30/09/2026

We asked Garvan Walshe how embracing market-liberal solutions is essential to overcoming the climate challenges we face. Here are the key takeaways:

🌿 Green libertarianism focuses on protecting the environment as part of people's natural rights through market-based solutions, rather than heavy-handed state regulation.

🔋 Disruptions in energy security highlight the need to help consumers finance modern technologies, like replacing boilers with heat pumps, to cut costs in the long term.

📜 Key policies like ETS2 must be simplified into a clearer cap-and-trade system instead of remaining a burdensome set of regulations.

It is time to move away from overly complex regulation and empower consumers and markets to drive the green transition forward.

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