Interview recorded - 18th of October, 2024On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming Michael von der Schulenberg. Michael has had a very interesting life, working for the United Nations and OSCE, including as UN assistant Secretary-General, in many of the world’s trouble spots, such as in Haiti, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, the Balkan, Somalia, Sierra Leone and the Sahel. Michael is now a member of the European Parliament.During our conversation we spoke about the current geopolitical turmoil, rejected Ukraine peace treaty, possibility of a ceasefire, NATO expansion towards Russia, EU regulation, the UN and how it hasn't lost its relevance. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction2:31 - Current view of geopolitics4:11 - Peace treaty on the table7:37 - Ceasefire8:37 - NATO expansion influenced Russia?10:09 - Biden impact wars12:43 - BRICS pushing together14:23 - EU isolating foreign policy16:30 - EU risk of being isolated?18:27 - EU government similar to China?20:55 - EU regulation?23:30 - Perfect European Union29:50 - UN charter avoided war?34:20 - UN lost its relevance?40:35 - One message to takeaway from conversation?Michael von der Schulenburg, former UN Assistant Secretary-General, escaped East Germany in 1969, studied in Berlin, London and Paris and worked for over 34 years for the United Nations, and shortly the OSCE, in many countries in war or internal armed conflicts often involving fragile governments and armed non-state actors.These included long-term assignments in Haiti, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Sierra Leone and shorter assignments in Syria, the Balkan, Somalia, the Balkan, the Sahel, and Central Asia.In 2017, he published the book On Building Peace – rescuing the Nation-State and saving the United Nations, AUP.Michael von der Schulenberg -Website - https://michael-von-der-schulenburg.com/WTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas