In this second episode of the Berlin Policy Journal Podcast, we look at the possibility of a “geopolitical European Union” — as promised by incoming EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.   Host and Berlin Policy Journal executive editor Henning Hoff speaks with Jana Puglierin, head of the Alfred von Oppenheim Center for European Policy Studies at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), to find out what needs to happen to transform the EU into a player on the world stage.    Then, with the help of DGAP France expert Claire Demesmay, we decode Emmanuel Macron’s recent controversial interview where he predicted Europe “will disappear” if it “can’t think of itself as a global power,” as well as his recent jaunt to China.    Finally, we hear an audio postcard from Kyrgyzstan on the “New Silk Road” sent by Jacob Modell, who is traveling from Brussels to Beijing and back to document China’s massive Belt and Road Initiative, intended to link up Asia with Europe and Africa.   More dispatches from Jacob can be found at berlinpolicyjournal.com/on-the-new-silk-road   ------------------------ The Berlin Policy Journal is a bi-monthly digital magazine on European affairs, edited in Germany’s capital and published by the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). It’s the sister publication of Internationale Politik, Germany’s leading foreign affairs magazine. You can read the Berlin Policy Journal on our website  https://berlinpolicyjournal.com or receive it free of charge via our app for Android and iOS devices. Contact us with questions or suggestions: podcast@berlinpolicyjournal.com