Episode Details

After 4 years of all-out war in Europe it is high time for peace. A german alliance of thinkers, journalists and a former Ex-NATO General have submitted a proposal to finally end the bloody Ukraine war. But the EU is still immovable.

I’m joined again by Michael von der Schulenburg, Member of the European Parliament and longtime UN/OSCE peace negotiator. We talk on the fourth anniversary of the full-scale Russia-Ukraine war and the uncomfortable gap between public war rhetoric and the hard limits of real diplomacy. Michael explains the peace proposal his group drafted, the letters sent to EU leaders, and the political climate that treats negotiation itself like a taboo. We also dig into collapsed arms control, the fading “red lines” of nuclear risk, and the way Ukraine’s future gets discussed in rooms far from the front.

Links:

Europe Needs Peace: https://michael-von-der-schulenburg.com/europa-braucht-jetzt-den-mut-zum-frieden/

Open Letters to Kaja Kallas and Roberta Metsola: https://pascallottaz.substack.com/p/open-letter-to-kaja-kallas-and-roberta

Michael von der Schulenburg (website): https://michael-von-der-schulenburg.com/

Michael von der Schulenburg (European Parliament profile): https://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/256966/MICHAEL_VON%2BDER%2BSCHULENBURG/home

Neutrality Studies substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.com

(Opt in for Academic Section from your profile settings: https://pascallottaz.substack.com/s/academic)

Merch & Donations: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourthwall.com

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Anniversary setting and opening stakes

00:01:40 Letters to EU leaders and peace proposal

00:06:38 OSCE vision, Paris Charter, ignored security

00:12:20 Deadlock mindset and endings in past wars

00:19:41 US-Russia track and Europe as spoiler

00:26:20 Military realism and silencing peace voices

00:33:22 Propaganda lock-in and breaking the frame

00:37:10 Backchannel attempts and Ukraine collapse risk

00:45:21 Where the letters will be published and close