FSR

In this final episode of the CAPABLE Project podcast, Professor Simone Borghesi (EUI) interviews two researchers closely involved in the project, Alessia Casamassima (EUI) and Ilaria Dibattista (EUI), who reflect on its journey, main achievements, and key takeaways. They highlight the most important insights gained, the challenges encountered, and the lessons learned along the way. This closing conversation offers a clear, direct, and thoughtful summary of CAPABLE’s impact, as well as its implications for future research and practice. CAPABLE is a research project funded by the Horizon Europe Programme under grant agreement No 101056891. It provides robust, resilient and actionable recommendations for the design of socially and economically acceptable climate policy measures for 2030 and beyond, examining experiences, policy design and implementation solutions to identify strategies that can enable a successful transition. Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. More info on CAPABLE: https://capableclimate.eu/

In this episode of the FSR Policy Briefcase (Season 2, Episode 10), hosts Leonardo Meeus and James Kneebone are joined by Fabio Santeramo, Part-time Professor at the Robert Schuman Centre and Head of the Agriculture Area at the Florence School of Regulation. The trio examines how climate policy and global trade are reshaping the future of European agriculture. The conversation opens with the EU’s recent food trade surplus and what it signals about Europe’s position in global agricultural markets. Does strong export performance reflect confidence in the EU’s ESG standards, or do sustainability frameworks still struggle to deliver meaningful change on the ground? Drawing on Fabio’s Policy Brief, the discussion turns to the evolving landscape of agricultural emissions pricing - from the political sensitivities surrounding a dedicated ETS for agriculture to the challenges of extending “polluter pays” principles to food systems. They also consider the leverage of the Common Agricultural Policy, the EU’s largest funding instrument, and whether reforming its incentives may prove more effective than introducing new regulatory obligations. Finally, the hosts and Fabio confront the major structural questions: the environmental impact of livestock, the pressures on land use and biodiversity, and whether future food systems can be sustainable without more transformative shifts in production and consumption. The episode also touches on emerging innovations such as cell-based meat and what they might mean for Europe’s path forward. Recorded in September 2025. Read the full Policy Brief from Fabio here: https://cadmus.eui.eu/entities/publication/45bb0ee6-f272-5055-8aaf-a5b8bef37148

In this interview with Simone Borghesi and Andris Piebalgs, we explore the key outcomes of COP30—the United Nations climate conference held in Belém, Brazil—focusing in particular on the insights and contributions provided by the Florence School of Regulation (FSR). For all FSR content related to COP30, visit: https://fsr.eui.eu/the-fsr-at-cop30-live-updates/

In the EU, national regulatory authorities are meant to act without political interference — but how independent are they really? In this episode of the FSR Policy Briefcase (Season 2, Episode 9), hosts Leonardo Meeus and Emma Menegatti sit down with FSR part-time Professor Kaisa Huhta to discuss the evolving definition of regulators’ independence in the EU. Drawing on Kaisa Huhta's recent Policy Brief, the discussion examines why regulators' independence matters, how recent European Court of Justice rulings have tested its boundaries, and what these cases mean for the future framework of energy regulation in Europe. Recorded in October 2025. Read the policy brief: https://fsr.eui.eu/publications/?handle=1814/92830

his is the fifth episode of a series focused on the findings of the Horizon Europe project CAPABLE (ClimAte Policy AcceptaBiLity Economic framework). The aim of this podcast series is to provide an overview of the CAPABLE project and draw attention to some particularly relevant findings. In this fifth episode, how to ensure that research reaches policymaker. The guest is Gaby Umbach. Gaby is Part-time Professor at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies of the European University Institute, where she leads the Global Governance Programme’s research area Knowledge, Governance, Transformations and heads the Interdisciplinary Research Cluster on Expert Knowledge and Authority in Transformative Times. She is also a non-resident Visiting Fellow at the European Parliamentary Research Service, Adjunct Professor at the Universities of Innsbruck and CIFE/LUISS Guido Carli, and Academic Advisor at the Institute for European Politics in Berlin. Her work examines the role of knowledge, evidence, and data in governance, with a focus on statistics as a tool of policymaking, evidence-informed governance, data literacy, and sustainable development. She holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Cologne, where she previously researched EU decision-making, governance, and policy coordination. CAPABLE is a research project funded by the Horizon Europe Programme under grant agreement No 101056891. It provides robust, resilient and actionable recommendations for the design of socially and economically acceptable climate policy measures for 2030 and beyond, examining experiences, policy design and implementation solutions to identify strategies that can enable a successful transition. Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. More info on CAPABLE: https://capableclimate.eu/