EU

The information that the European Union intends to ban the keeping of rodents, reptiles or parrots is not true. An expert study on the subject is still under way and it is not yet clear whether any measures will affect ordinary keepers at all. Viktor Daněk, our deputy director, has spoken out against the false news and commented on the topic for the daily Právo.

Next year, citizens in all EU countries will vote for a new Parliament. In the Czech Republic, turnout in European elections is usually low. Our Executive Director Martin Vokálek spoke to ČRo Plus about the Czech approach to the European Parliament elections and the key electoral topics.

The current President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will end her term next autumn. It remains to be decided whether she will run again, but her strong State of the Union speech puts her in an favourable position. Žiga Faktor, director of the EUROPEUM Institute's Brussels office, commented on the current situation for Aktuálně.cz.

EUROPEUM Institute analyst Vít Havelka commented on Ursula von der Leyen's State of the Union speech, in which the European Commission President covered a number of key topics for the current and future development of the EU.

Žiga Faktor, director of the EUROPEUM Institute's Brussels office, commented on the latest State of the Union speech by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

The outgoing President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen prepares for her State of the Union speech. Žiga Faktor, Director of the EUROPEUM Institute's Brussels office, assessed her tenure and achievements for Czech Television.

The EU countries have decided that the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines will end by 2035 at the latest. Although this is a highly controversial move in the Czech Republic, it is unlikely to be of much significance in the context of the global new car market. The new Euro 7 emissions standard will be the same. Our Senior Research Fellow Vít Havelka commented on this topic.

On new European legislation passed by the European Parliament in a close vote to protect climate and species diversity. Protection is no longer enough. Europe's nature is facing a renewal. What do critics of the nature recovery plan fear? And how could it help protect the climate? Our senior researcher Kateřina Davidová comments on this in a new Respekt podcast.

The Czech Republic wants to borrow tens of billions through the National Recovery Plan for projects such as the gas pipeline from Poland or the strengthening of the oil pipeline from Italy. The money will come from the European Recovery and Resilience Facility, which should make the loan profitable. Not all projects have been given the green light by the European Commission. Funding for the Dukovany hot water pipeline has been put on hold. Our Senior Research Fellow Vít Havelka commented on this topic.

The head of the EUROPEUM Institute's Brussels office wrote a commentary for Aktuálně.cz on the European Political Community meeting in Moldova.

The head of the Brussels office, Žiga Faktor, commented on the possible future of the European Union in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Our Senior Research Fellow Jana Juzová, Associate Research Fellow Zuzana Kasáková and Head of the Brussels Office Žiga Faktor prepared the background material for the roundtable of the National Convention on the EU. The topic is "The European Political Community and its future potential". Three main questions are put to the roundtable: What potential does the European Political Community offer and how can it complement existing platforms and processes? In which areas of cooperation does the platform have the greatest potential and what should it focus on? What format and modus operandi would be most beneficial for the Platform to fulfil its purpose?