Articles and Publications

Summaries and recommendations arising from the roundtable discussion of the National Convention on the EU held on 3 June 2022. Here is a summary of the main points discussed at the Convention. The recommendations have been prepared by the head of our Brussels office, Žiga Faktor.

Our senior research fellow Vít Havelka has written an OUTLOOK entitled "2022 Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU", where he analyses the future course of the Czech Presidency and the biggest challenges. In his paper, he focuses on two levels of the Presidency's work, namely the political and legislative agenda.

Jakub Ferenčík wrote a blog on the current topic: The Sixth Sanctions Package & the Visegrad Group’s Reliance on Putin’s Gas. Russia's aggression in Ukraine has necessitated another package of sanctions, this time in the energy sector. Due to the lack of alternatives for gas supplies, the Visegrad Four countries had a problem with the implementation of the latest sanctions package. In the end, the EU found a consensus and introduced exemptions for the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.

The head of our Brussels Office Žiga Faktor has prepared a background paper on the Conclusions and Implementation of the Outcomes of the Conference on the Future of Europe. In it, he answers three questions: How to get more attention from citizens and the media for the conclusions of the Conference? How to ensure successful implementation of the outcomes of the CoFoE? Is it appropriate to use some aspects of the Conference after its conclusion?

Our researcher Tatiana Mindekova wrote a report from the debate, which focused on a fair and sustainable future of transport and buildings. The debate took a closer look at the ETS legislative proposal, its possible extension and the redistribution of funding in this area.

Jakub Ferenčík wrote the EU Monitor on "The EU's stance on Ukraine's EU membership", where he discusses Ukraine's potential membership in the EU. Ferenčík also discusses the process of transitioning to EU membership and compares it to a similar process faced by some other countries, notably Serbia. In his work, the author discusses some of the factors of the transition process, from subscribing to EU values such as "human dignity, freedom and equality" to creating an area of "prosperity and neighbourhood".

Jakub Ferenčík wrote a blog on the topic: The Militarization of Europe: Three Reasons the EU’s Defense Strategy Changed. In his blog, he writes for example about three reasons why the EU defence strategy has changed or the militarisation of Europe and the future of deterrence.

The latest National Convention on the EU took place on 29 April 2022. Here is a summary of the main points discussed at the Convention. The recommendations were prepared by Tereza Novotná and Alexandra Visnerová.

Our researcher Katharine Klačanský wrote a policy paper on "The Future of Energy Poverty: Will the Social Climate Fund be enough for a just transition?" in which she mentions, for example, that a just transition to a green economy is one that leaves no one behind.

Esteban Gas has written a blog about the French elections that took place during the French presidency. While Macron’s re-election at a glance enables another term of continuation of the existing French agenda in the Union, the tightening of the gap between the far-right and Macron will have to be acknowledged politically in the years to come and might affect the EU.

Tereza Novotná, Senior Associate Research Fellow, and Alexandra Visnerova, project manager, prepared a background paper on EU-Indo-Pacific relations from the perspective of the Czech Republic. How will the new geopolitical context resulting from the war in Ukraine affect the Indo-Pacific region, including relations with China, and how should the EU respond? Which other partners should the EU work with and which ones should the Czech Republic focus on as a priority during its EU Council Presidency? Which sectors within the European Indo-Pacific Strategy should the EU focus on most and which should the Czech Republic prioritise during its Presidency of the Council?

Michaela Stanová has written a blog in which she discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the mental health of us all. She argues the emergence of COVID-19 has caused not only an increase in, but also an worsening of, pre-existing mental health problems, but fortunately also an interest in addressing them. This is both at the individual level and at the legislative level.