Can Europe really reclaim control over its digital destiny, or dependency on foreign tech giants looms ahead?

Global power structures, trade, and value chains are being reshaped – today. And with reliance on foreign digital infrastructure running deep, Europe is at a crossroads.

Paul Timmers, outgoing Chairman of e-Governance Academy and Visiting Professor at KU Leuven, joins us in this Podcast episode to discuss why EuroStack might just be the answer Europe needs.

At its core, EuroStack stands for a simple but powerful idea: Europe should be able to rely on itself when it matters most. But, as Timmers quickly points out, that doesn't mean shutting others out.

“It’s not protectionism. Rather, we need to address the critical dependencies we have, and ensure we keep a say in shaping our digital future.”

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Montenegro’s digital journey has been one of deliberate reconstruction and collaboration. In 2022, a major cyberattack exposed critical gaps in the country’s digital infrastructure.

The experience sent shockwaves through Montenegro’s public administration and made it abundantly clear that preparedness on paper does not equal resilience in reality.

Instead of responding with short-term fixes, public institutions focused on long-term change. They initiated a wide-ranging transformation, strengthening cyber capabilities, forming new partnerships, and prioritising resilience not as an end goal, but as an everyday practice.

In this podcast episode, we take a privileged look at what that transformation felt like from the inside with Dušan Polović, Director General for Infrastructure, Information Security, Digitalisation and e-Services at the Ministry of Public Administration of Montenegro, and Milan Sekuloski, Senior Cybersecurity Expert at the e-Governance Academy.

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Bureaucracy – everybody’s favourite colleague. A structure that ensures governance, compliance, and stability, however, at the cost of efficiency and agility.

Is bureaucracy a necessary evil? No need to wonder anymore, in this episode of the Podcast with Margus Sarapuu, Senior Expert at e-Governance Academy.

Seasoned in public sector innovation, he comes from the recent experience with Estonia's Zero Bureacracy initiative, within a wider framework of real-time economy plans taking place across the EU.

We shed light on how digital transformation can help governments cut red tape, enhance efficiency, and drive economic growth by addressing the details that matter. However, this also highlights the differences across the globe in how this is done.

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When catastrophic floods struck Brazil’s state of Rio Grande do Sul in May 2024, the devastation was swift and far-reaching. Nearly 200 lives were lost, hundreds of thousands were displaced, and critical infrastructure - from roads to water systems - was brought to a standstill.

But in the eye of the storm, something else emerged: a remarkable story of how digital governance can respond to climate disaster.

In this podcast episode, we feature Gabriel Souza, Vice Governor of Rio Grande do Sul, who recounts how the regional government responded with digital adaptation, coordinated leadership, and institutional learning in the face of unprecedented crisis.

“We really innovated a lot,” he notes, reflecting on the urgency and innovation that emerged from the chaos. “We created a myriad of tools that are now part of the legacy of the crisis,” resulting from on-the-ground creativity under pressure.

A vivid example of how data, public trust, and agile governance structures can converge in a time of disaster to deliver solutions and reshape the future.

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Ukraine’s digital transformation is a masterclass in the power of purpose-driven leadership amidst adversity, where resilience and clarity of vision have turned crisis into opportunity. More than simply the evolution of services or infrastructure, the country’s experience is rooted in reimagining how a state serves its citizens under extraordinary circumstances.

Facing systemic challenges, a full-scale military invasion by Russia, and economic strain, Ukraine pushed forward, proving that digital governance too can contribute to upholding the core values of protecting sovereignty and democracy.

In many ways and for many reasons, this is a special episode. Valeriya Ionan, Advisor to the Vice Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science and Technology Development – Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, and Hannes Astok, Executive Director of e-Governance Academy, dissect the remarkable trajectory that has seen Ukraine move from fragmented governance to championing digital resilience. All the while strengthening Ukraine's European aspirations, amplifying public trust, and much, much more through an era defined by uncertainty and rapid change.

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At the Tallinn Cyber Diplomacy Summer School this year, an idea resonated across sessions: our digital world is entwined into the fabric of society, influencing our security, values, and future prosperity.

In this podcast episode, we sat down for a conversation on technology, diplomacy and values with Johanna Weaver, Executive Director of the Tech Policy Design Institute, Australia. She offers a perspective that breaks away from technicism and focuses on what matters down the line – how can we embed fairness, trust, and resilience into the technologies we create?

"Diplomacy in the digital age is no longer optional," Weaver says, making clear that our choices today will define the digital world of the future. The introduction of values into digital systems starts at the design stage and must be reinforced through policy, education, and diplomacy. What we decide today will shape the face and substance of technology tomorrow. T

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In cyberspace, borders are invisible, but the consequences are very real. As states continue integrating digital tools into national defence, diplomacy, and daily governance, the question of how international law applies to this domain has become increasingly urgent.

The Tallinn Cyber Diplomacy Summer School sharpens this conversation with sessions that this year include speakers Liis Vihul, CEO of Cyber Law International, and Agnes Kasper, Head of the Law Branch at the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE).

So, we brought them together. In this second instalment of our dedicated podcast mini-series to the Cyber Diplomacy fest taking place in Tallinn, we dug deep into what makes momentum grow among countries to shape and publish national positions on international law in cyberspace, with all the complexity, ambiguity, and realpolitik that surround this effort laid bare too.

AI governance is under pressure to match the speed and reach of artificial intelligence as it reshapes economies, political systems, and cultural norms. No longer a future concern, AI is a present force demanding immediate and coordinated responses. In this introductory episode to this year's Tallinn Cyber Diplomacy Summer School, we do just that with Lucia Velasco, AI Policy Lead at the UN Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies.

Velasco says navigating geopolitical tensions and aligning regulatory practices requires a distinctive and urgent approach. And AI governance is about far more than legal frameworks. "Governance is not just regulation," she points out. "It's the framework that helps ensure AI is developed and used in fair, safe, and ultimately beneficial ways."

The call is for an anticipatory governance model that is not responsive. It should be capable of shaping AI's trajectory before its effects become unmanageable.

The podcast is hosted by Federico Plantera.

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