Uploaded April 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In this lecture, Austrian Parliament Member Helmut Brandstätter addresses the various crises Europe has faced over the past few years. The Corona pandemic hit Europe in a difficult state: A trade war between the US and China, with Europe watching helplessly from the side. For Donald Trump Europe was not a partner but rather a competitor in the world market. The French president Macron called NATO “brain dead”, in the Middle East the EU is an observer and in post-Soviet countries like Hungary and Poland authoritarian regimes are emerging that are challenging the EU’s values.
The virus sent a warning that a peace in Europe has to be sustained - also to prevent historic conflicts from erupting. Today, with a war unfolding in Ukraine, we see that peace is not guaranteed anymore. While Europe has shown historic unity in facing Russia with severe sanctions, the security order has to be rethought.
Helmut Brandstätter, born in 1955, holds a doctorate in law from the University of Vienna and a post-graduate degree from Johns Hopkins University in Bologna. For 15 years he worked as a journalist for Austria’s national TV station ORF. He was a correspondent in Bonn and Brussels. He was also editor in chief and CEO of the German news channel n-tv and founded the private TV channel PulsTV in Austria.From 2010-2019 he was editor in chief of the Austrian daily newspaper Kurier. Since 2019 he is a member of parliament for the liberal party NEOS and is the party’s spokesperson for foreign policy. He is also the author of several books, such as “Letzter Weckruf für Europa”.
In this lecture, Austrian Parliament Member Helmut Brandstätter addresses the various crises Europe has faced over the past few years. The Corona pandemic hit Europe in a difficult state: A trade war between the US and China, with Europe watching helplessly from the side. For Donald Trump Europe was not a partner but rather a competitor in the world market. The French president Macron called NATO “brain dead”, in the Middle East the EU is an observer and in post-Soviet countries like Hungary and Poland authoritarian regimes are emerging that are challenging the EU’s values.
The virus sent a warning that a peace in Europe has to be sustained - also to prevent historic conflicts from erupting. Today, with a war unfolding in Ukraine, we see that peace is not guaranteed anymore. While Europe has shown historic unity in facing Russia with severe sanctions, the security order has to be rethought.
Helmut Brandstätter, born in 1955, holds a doctorate in law from the University of Vienna and a post-graduate degree from Johns Hopkins University in Bologna. For 15 years he worked as a journalist for Austria’s national TV station ORF. He was a correspondent in Bonn and Brussels. He was also editor in chief and CEO of the German news channel n-tv and founded the private TV channel PulsTV in Austria.From 2010-2019 he was editor in chief of the Austrian daily newspaper Kurier. Since 2019 he is a member of parliament for the liberal party NEOS and is the party’s spokesperson for foreign policy. He is also the author of several books, such as “Letzter Weckruf für Europa”.
