Articles Archive

Veronika Vrecionová was elected as the Chair of the Committee on Agriculture and Luděk Niedermayer as the Vice-Chair of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. Does this signify a strengthening or weakening of the Czech position? In which committees will the Czech MEPs be active? How significant is the "cordon sanitaire" of the Patriots for Europe political group? And isn't this isolation of the Patriots for Europe a limitation of democracy? Viktor Daněk, Deputy Director of EUROPEUM Institute, discusses this topic in an interview for ČT24.

EUROPEUM Institute is currently looking for a Senior Researcher/Leader of a Research Programme for one of our work streams with a research focus on topics such as EU’s climate policy and decarbonization of industry, role of the EU as a global player, social dimension of EU regulatory framework, cohesion policy and/or MFF.

Most European Union states have decided to boycott the Council meeting in Budapest. This decision is a reaction to Orbán's "peace mission", during which he met with Russian President Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and former US President Trump under the banner of the Hungarian presidency without any mandate from the EU. Will EU criticism slow Orbán down in his next steps? Can Hungary's presidency be revoked? Does EU foreign policy even need to be unified? The situation is commented on by Viktor Daněk, Deputy Director of EUROPEUM Institute.

There are relatively few comments from European leaders on Joe Biden's withdrawal from the U.S. presidential campaign, and those that do appear are rather restrained. How significant is Joe Biden's withdrawal for European leaders? Should the European Union prepare for what will happen after the U.S. elections? Viktor Daněk, Deputy Director of EUROPEUM Institute, answered for ČRo Plus.

In an article for the international magazine The Diplomat, Tereza Novotná, an Associate Research Fellow at EUROPEUM Institute, analyzes NATO's new direction, focusing on the Indo-Pacific region. The alliance aims to keep American engagement, curb Russian aggression, and limit China's influence, with strengthening cooperation with partners like South Korea being crucial for ensuring global stability. The article also includes recommendations for enhancing these relationships.

After being approved by the European Parliament, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is starting to assemble her team of commissioners. Some countries have already submitted their candidates, but many are still pending, including the Czech Republic. In Czechia, discussions about potential candidates are ongoing, with additional names being proposed alongside those suggested by the STAN political party. Viktor Daněk, Deputy Director of EUROPEUM Institute, comments on the situation for Czech News Agency.

The current head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will remain at the helm of the EU's most prominent body, as decided by MEPs on Thursday. Although Thursday's vote was expected to be close, she ultimately secured 401 votes, forty more than needed. She even achieved a better result than five years ago, when she won by just nine votes. Viktor Daněk, Deputy Director of EUROPEUM Institute, gave an interview to Seznam Zprávy about her re-election.

How could the strengthening of the far right in the European Parliament manifest in practice? How strong and influential could the political group Patriots of Europe become? Could it affect decision-making at the level of the European Council? What developments can we expect in the European Commission under von der Leyen's leadership? Žiga Faktor, Deputy Director and Head of the Brussels Office of EUROPEUM Institute, answered in an interview for FORUM24.

The European agency Frontex has released data on the number of migrants arriving in the European Union. This year, it recorded a third less migrants who have entered the Union illegally compared to last year. What are the reasons behind the decrease in migrant numbers? Did the failed agreement between the United Kingdom and Rwanda have an impact? Will the recently approved migration pact, which will come into effect in two years, also help? Viktor Daněk, Deputy Director of EUROPEUM Institute, commented on this for Novinky.cz.

Ursula von der Leyen will lead the European Commission for another five years. This was decided by MEPs on Thursday, July 18. Von der Leyen received 401 out of 707 valid votes. What determined her election? And what are her main topics? Researcher Zuzana Krulichová from EUROPEUM Institute discussed this on TN.cz.

The Czech government's press conference on Wedesday was delayed by nearly two hours due to discussions on the giant nuclear tender for the completion of Dukovany. The originally planned approval of the Czech Green Deal was postponed. Prime Minister Fiala emphasized that no new commitments would be adopted and the government would seek to mitigate the impacts of previously approved measures. However, as noted by researcher Rebeka Hengalová from EUROPEUM Institute for Blesk.cz, altering the Green Deal is nearly impossible and canceling it is neither feasible nor desirable.

Ursula von der Leyen has secured another five years at the helm of the EU executive. She received more support from MEPs in a secret ballot than five years ago. She succeeded despite leading the Commission through times of unprecedented crises. Martin Vokálek, Executive Director of EUROPEUM Institute, reviewed previous five-year term for Seznam Zprávy.