The European Republic

What does it actually mean to be European — beyond the common market and the institutions? In the 13th Episode of the European Republic, our host Nikodem Skrobisz talks with Timi Celcer, a Slovenian entrepreneur and pan-European activist exploring that question through two very different ventures.With Via Nova, Timi wants to spark a new European renaissance by reviving Latin — not as a dead classroom language, but as a living, shared medium that could give Europe a cultural identity to match its economic and political integration. With Grow Europe, he takes the pragmatic route, building a “growth infrastructure” to help startups and SMEs scale across the continent’s fragmented markets.It’s a sweeping conversation that moves from a backpacking trip through Africa and Asia to philosophy, from the revival of Hebrew in Israel to the standardisation of Mandarin, and from idealism as a way of life to the very concrete bottlenecks facing European founders. Along the way: why Latin and not English, what a new European renaissance built on Athens, Jerusalem and Rome might look like, and a closing defence of idealism in a continent that has been pragmatic for too long.Connect with Timi: linkedin.com/in/timi-celcerFollow Via Nova on Instagram: instagram.com/vianova_europae Get full access to Nikodem at nikodemskrobisz.substack.com/subscribe

For Episode 11 of The European Republic, our host Nikodem Skrobisz talks with Giacomo Leombruni — winner of the 2025 Charlemagne Youth Prize with Forum Europaeum and founder and president of Last Call Europe, a platform built by and for young Europeans who want to shape the continent through debate.Giacomo argues that more Europe doesn’t mean less Italy. Giacomo makes the case that a stronger, more sovereign Union — especially on defence and foreign policy — isn’t a threat to national identity but the only way European nations can hold their own at a table now dominated by the US, China, and Russia. Along the way he gives a candid, ground-level read on Italian euroskepticism, the youth crisis quietly driving so much of it, and why he insists young people aren’t the future of European politics but its present.In this episode we get into:* The argument for a sovereign Europe — and why being “27 countries alone” is no longer an option* The real roots of Italian euroskepticism: Brexit’s long shadow, Brussels-blaming, anxieties over the euro, and the populist habit of inventing a single enemy* Youth unemployment, brain drain, and Europe’s drift toward a “gerontocracy”* How Last Call Europe was built from scratch — and the vision to grow it into a pan-European media platform* Activist or journalist? The line between shaping opinion and reporting it* Why the cure for polarization is more debate, not less — including with people who hate the EU* The future of NATO, the transatlantic relationship, and the case for European strategic autonomyCheck out Last Call Europe: ⁠⁠ Get full access to Nikodem at nikodemskrobisz.substack.com/subscribe

Nathan Doude van Troostwijk | Paneuropa and the Real Threat to Europe | The European Republic #10What does it take to actually unite Europe — and who's standing in the way? In this episode our host Nikodem Skrobisz is joined by Nathan Doude van Troostwijk, a paneuropean activist who has fundraised for Volt France, organised with JEF, and now coordinates Paneuropa Union in Belgium. Coming from a Dutch-French-Swiss family and raised in Alsace, Nathan brings a realist case for European unity: every pro-European, pro-democratic movement is a good one, and the real fight is getting the citizens — not just the elites — on board.We range widely: why Spinelli's federalism and Coudenhove-Kalergi's vision aren't really opposed, whether pro-Europeans should borrow populist communication tactics (and where that gets dangerous), the state of French politics heading into the presidential election, De Gaulle as both realist and myth, Christianity and the Enlightenment as Europe's shared cultural bedrock, immigration and integration beyond the headlines, Europe's brain drain, NATO reform, the "autocracy" networks targeting the continent — and Nathan's pitch for a broad pan-European assembly to bring the scattered movements into one common front.Paneuropa Union Belgium:⁠https://www.instagram.com/paneuropa.belgium⁠Nathans Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/nathan_doude Get full access to Nikodem at nikodemskrobisz.substack.com/subscribe

Do we want Europe to be a player — or a playground for other powers? In the 9th episode of The European Republic, our host Nikodem Skrobisz speaks with political scientist Anton Shekhovtsov, Director of the Centre for Democratic Integrity in Vienna and visiting professor at the Central European University, one of the world's leading experts on political warfare and the weaponization of the European far right by autocratic regimes.We discuss what political warfare actually is and why Russia's invasion of Ukraine was the result of its failure; why the West still lacks a realistic vision for dealing with Russia; how the Kremlin, China, and increasingly the United States exploit Europe's internal crises and populist movements to keep the continent weak; why a "Europe of multiple speeds" may be the path to a sovereign, geopolitically capable united Europe; and why rearmament needs democratic legitimacy — and a vision worth defending.Anton writes about the European far right, Russia's war on Europe, and the vision of pan-Europa on his Substack "Towers of Europa" — highly recommended:https://shekhovtsov.substack.comCentre for Democratic Integrity: ⁠https://democratic-integrity.eu⁠Anton's books include "Russia and the Western Far Right: Tango Noir" and "Russian Political Warfare."The European Republic is the podcast for a united, democratic, federal Europe — interviews with pro-European and eurofederalist thinkers, activists, and politicians from across the continent.Follow and support the podcast on Substack: ⁠https://nikodemskrobisz.substack.com/⁠Host: Nikodem Skrobisz —⁠ https://nikodem-skrobisz.com⁠ Get full access to Nikodem at nikodemskrobisz.substack.com/subscribe

For episode 8 of The European Republic Podcast, our host Nikodem Skrobisz talks with Ivo IJssennagger , the Policy and Program Lead of Astra Europa. They discuss Ivos background as an economist and his past as a professional poker player, as much as his involvement in drafting the manifesto of Astra Europa.Learn more about Astra Europa EU: https://astraeuropa.eu/Join Astra Europa Netherlands: https://astraeuropa.nl/ Get full access to Nikodem at nikodemskrobisz.substack.com/subscribe

For episode 7 of The European Republic Podcast, our host Nikodem Skrobisz talks with Rolf Strijdhorst, the Vice Chairman of Astra Europa. They discuss Rolfs background as a software developer, liberalism and the vision and roadmap of Astra Europa especially in the Netherlands.As always, you can also watch this episode on Spotify:Learn more about Astra Europa EU: https://astraeuropa.eu/Join Astra Europa Netherlands: https://astraeuropa.nl/ Get full access to Nikodem at nikodemskrobisz.substack.com/subscribe

Carlos Zapata-Carratalá | A Spanish Mathematical Researcher heading to Ukraine | Mathematical Research, Democratic Discourse and the War in Ukraine | The European Republic #6For episode 6 of The European Republic Podcast, our host Nikodem Skrobisz talks with the Physicist and Mathematical Research Carlos Zapata-Carratalá, who is currently preparing to move to Kyiv very soon. The discussion covers his work and background as a mathemtatical researcher in theoretical physics and organiser of the SEMF, how democratic discourse benefits from diversity and how his visit to Kyiv in December 2025 led to his decision to become a european activist and move to Ukraine permanently.Here you can support Carlos' Fundraiser: https://4fund.com/rr7a3jSEMF - The Society for Multidisciplinary and Fundamental Research: https://www.semf.org.es/Carlos on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlos-zapata-carratal%C3%A1-b068b51b4/ Get full access to Nikodem at nikodemskrobisz.substack.com/subscribe

In this second episode of the Ramblings Vlog, I, Nikodem Skrobisz, talk about the European Federalist Metagame.The Ramblings are bonus episodes of The European Republic Podcast, where I will vlog about my thoughts behind the scenes, ramble about personal topics and reflect on ideas for paneuropean politics. Get full access to Nikodem at nikodemskrobisz.substack.com/subscribe

In this first episode of the Ramblings Vlog, I, Nikodem Skrobisz, talk about my other public persona on the more german speaking corner of the internet, namley as a writer ans reflect on the relationship between politics and literature.The Ramblings are bonus episodes of The European Republic Podcast, where I will vlog about my thoughts behind the scenes, ramble about personal topics and reflect on ideas for paneuropean politics.Listen to this podcast episode also on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0rud4tAKv6r4Se6XR4sArP?si=RFzXCHHGRradSqX5e67ocwList of my publications: https://nikodem-skrobisz.com/Website/My+Books Get full access to Nikodem at nikodemskrobisz.substack.com/subscribe

Dániel Kovács | Forum Europaeum, Hungary after Orban and European MediaFor episode 5 of The European Republic Podcast, our host Nikodem Skrobisz talks with hungarian mediamaker and journalist Dániel Kovács. Dániel Kovács has founded and leads the Forum Europaeum, a paneuropean media project, that tries to built a european media space and was awarded with the Youth Charlemagne Price. They talk about FEU, about Péter Magyar and his victory over Orban changing Hungary, the future of Hungary and its media in Europe, european cultural hegemomy and production. Including a few great stories about producing content for europe and how to connect its people.FEU Website:https://forum-europaeum.comForum Europaeum YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@forum.europaeum/videos Get full access to Nikodem at nikodemskrobisz.substack.com/subscribe

For episode 4 of The European Republic, our host Nikodem Skrobisz met with Arthur Krön in Vienna. Arthur is an Oxford Clarendon Scholar, NZZ Contributing Writer, Austrian Army Reservist and the founder of The Future is Yourope, an Initiative that wants to give Europeans a voice. We talked about building an European discourse, paths to European unification and the future of his project.Thank you to Jadetee & Keramik for hosting our conversation: https://jadetee.at/Check out The Future is Yourope now: https://yourope.io/ Get full access to Nikodem at nikodemskrobisz.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of The Europeans our host Nikodem Skrobisz talks with Tatiana Shpyleva from the non-partisan, Brussels-based organisation The Europeans. We talked about how The Europeans aims to foster a new political consciousness across Europe and move discourse to the paneuropean level, the war in Ukraine and need for Europe to take defence and sovereignty more serious again.Learn more about The Europeans here: https://the-europeans.eu/vision-for-the-europeans/ Get full access to Nikodem at nikodemskrobisz.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of The European Republic our Host Nikodem Skrobisz interviews Andrea Moraeu, better known on X and Instagram as Omne.eu. Andi is a eurofederalist activist, known for his aesthetics and his commentary on culture and news from the Mediterranean and all of Europe in English and Interlingua / Neolatin. We spoke about Latin, Culture, Civilisation, Liberal Democracy and his vision for a united, free Europe.Check out Andis X / Twitter: https://x.com/neolatynoCheck out Andis Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/omne.eu/ Get full access to Nikodem at nikodemskrobisz.substack.com/subscribe

n this episode of The European Republic our host Nikodem Skrobisz interviews the Eurofederalist YouTuber the Polish Dane, who is also one of the co-founders of the eurofederalist meta-movement The First Domino. We spook about his YouTube Account, producing videos for fun, his personal views on morality and nihilism, space colonisation and of course eurofederalism and the new movement The First Domino.Visit the Polish Dane here: https://www.youtube.com/@PolishDaneFirst Domino:https://firstdomino.github.io/Nikodem Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/nikodem_skrobisz/Nikodem Substack:https://nikodemskrobisz.substack.com/ Get full access to Nikodem at nikodemskrobisz.substack.com/subscribe