EU

We bring you a summary and recommendations resulting from the roundtable discussion of the National Convention on the EU held on 1 October 2021. The recommendations were prepared by Zuzana Kasáková.

The Director of Europeum Institute for European Policy Zdeněk Beránek contributed to an article on the current relations between Poland and the European Union. The article refutes predictions of Poland's imminent departure from the EU and covers, among other things, the disputes over the Turów mine.

Our director Zdeněk Beránek spoke about the relations between Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and his Hungarian counterpart Victor Orbán. Both are harsh critics of the EU institutions. However, the defeat of Babiš in recent parliamentary elections could hurt relations between the capitals.

In an article for INFO.CZ, our researcher Jana Juzová comments on the events of last Wednesday, when another series of EU and regional summits took place in Brdo near Kranj, Slovenia. In her article, she explains why, despite the high ambitions of organizing Slovenia, the meeting brought rather disappointment and disillusionment and what the final joint declaration contains.

Our research fellow Vít Havelka commented for Seznam Zprávy on the results of a study on voting in the Council of the EU, which focused on cooperation in voting by individual member states within various groupings such as the Visegrad Four, Benelux and others.

In Hospodářské noviny's podcast Morning Briefing by Ondřej Houska, our researcher Vít Havelka commented on who is the Czech Republic's key partner and assessed the functionality of the Visegrad Four.

Martin Vokálek, Executive Director of the EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy, commented on the different domestic and European policies of the ANO party. From the European Parliament, Czech politics may look different than at home. The coalition that rules the European Parliament and indeed the EU is made up of ANO, TOP 09, KDU-ČSL, STAN and ČSSD.

For Slovenia, the enlargement of the European Union is currently the expected topic of the leaders' summit. The Western Balkans could be enriched by the EU, which is a priority mainly for Slovenia, as well as the Visegrad countries. However, some member States are critical of the expansion of the Union's circles.

Our researcher Jana Juzová commented on the situation regarding the EU Summit with the Western Balkans in Slovenia in the live broadcast of Studio ČT24. The topic of conversation is, among other things, the accession of the Western Balkans to the EU, its form and timeline.

Jana Juzová, a researcher at our Institute, commented on the current situation around the EU Summit with the Western Balkans in Slovenia on Czech radio ČRo Plus. The comment was about how to approach the countries of the Western Balkans, which can potentially join the European Union, but also why the European Union counts on a model of gradual accession.

In an article for euractiv.cz, the head of our Brussels office, Žiga Faktor, comments on the tense relationship between the EU and Turkey. The commentary focuses on the future direction of mutual relations and migration from Afghanistan.

Martin Vokálek, Executive Director of the EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy, commented on current events on the Belarus-Polish border. Precisely because of migration, Poland extended the state of emergency on the border with Belarus. The problem will be discussed by the European Parliament.