Research Lab

She is the Managing Director of Vocal Europe. Madalina Sisu Vicari is a PhD candidate at the University of Liège. Her main research interests are: the geopolitics of energy, energy security, Ukraine’s and Turkey’s energy cooperation with EU, EU-Russia energy relations, EU’s external energy governance, European regionalization. She holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and a Master’s degree in Communications and European Affairs.

Julien Hoez is a policy analyst at Vocal Europe. Growing up as a French Londoner, Julien Hoez holds a B.A in International Relations and French studies at Oxford Brookes University. He is passionate about the current state of French politics, as well as the increasingly important implications of the modern-era European project.

Irene Christodoulaki is a researcher at Vocal Europe. Irene holds a master`s degree in European Law and Policy. She also has an MSc in Digital Journalism from Goldsmiths, University of London. She has worked as a policy analyst and journalist for various research centres and NGOs in Greece, Cyprus and in the UK. Her main research interests are Turkey and the Middle East, EU politics, religion in international relations as well as the impact of social media in society.

Astrid Viaud holds a doctorate in political and social sciences from the Catholic University of Louvain (UCL, Belgium). Her thesis “The coercive action of the European Union with regard to sanctions in the international order: the cases of Iran, Syria, and Russia”. She is a visiting scholar at Vocal Europe working on EU-Iran relations.

Soudabeh Nour is a PhD candidate in Applied Linguistics at the Free University of Brussels (VUB). She holds a Master's degree in European Journalism. Among other matters, she also works on EU-Iran relations. She is fluent in Persian and English.

Ebubekir ISIK is a Policy Analyst at Vocal Europe. He works on populism in Europe, the Mediterranean region and the EU's Enlargement Politics.

Bob Groome holds a B.A in French, Sociology and Political Science and a Masters degree in Natural Resource Governance and Economic Policy, both from National University of Ireland, Galway. He speaks English and French and has a good command of Irish.

Stéphanie Leysen holds a LLM in International and European Law from the University of Antwerp and a Master's degree in Human Rights Law with International Conflict & Security from Kent University. She is passionate about human rights, migration and environmental issues and has worked on these topics at different international organisations. Stéphanie is fluent in Dutch, English and French.

José Diogo Alves is a research intern at Vocal Europe. He is passionate about global politics, economics and human rights, with a special focus on minorities. He is fluent in Portuguese and English and has a good command of Spanish.

Robert Petraru is a research trainee at Vocal Europe. He holds a bachelor degree in European Studies and now is currently studying Public Policy and Human Development. His main interests rely in the Eastern Partnership, development policy and EU’s common foreign and security policy. He is fluent in English and Romanian and he has a good command of Spanish.