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.
Zjistit víceKristína Chlebáková, our project manager, commented in an article for Deník N on the upcoming parliamentary elections in Slovakia. The elections will take place at the end of September and may change the foreign policy orientation of Slovakia. Some political parties, including the biggest favourite, former Prime Minister Robert Fico's Smer - Social Democracy party, are campaigning on refusing aid to Ukraine, being friendly to Russia and attacking the EU and the US.
Zjistit víceThe head of our Brussels office, Žiga Faktor, spoke to EURACTIV.cz about the departure of Dutchman Frans Timmermans from the European Commission. The influential vice-president of the European Commission was lured by the prospect of the prime minister's chair in the Netherlands, and his boss, Ursula von der Leyen, has to manage without him. But her difficulties do not end there, a year before the European elections.
Zjistit víceIn the Bruselské chlebíčky podcast, the head of the Brussels office of the EUROPEUM think-tank comments on the situation with the upcoming European Presidency. The incoming Spanish presidency is currently open-ended, due to the upcoming Spanish elections, and the Hungarian presidency next year is one that MEPs would prefer to abolish altogether.
Zjistit víceHead of the Brussels office Žiga Faktor commented on the outcome of the presidential elections in Turkey on RTVS.
Zjistit víceTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is currently leading the election over opposition candidate Kemal Kiliçdaroglu. But the voters will decide on the Turkish president in 14 days. Žiga Faktor, head of the Brussels office of the EUROPEUM Institute for European Politics, commented on the course of the elections for Český Rozhlas Plus.
Zjistit víceDisinformation and foreign interference have been concerns in global politics for centuries, but social media algorithms have made the current threat more dire as they amplify content based on human frailties such as our obsession with negativity and outrage. Russian interference in the 2016 US federal election and other elections and referenda in at least twenty countries between November 2016 and April 2019, including the Brexit referendum, the French and German elections, and the Ukrainian power grid cyber-attacks, have highlighted the potential for foreign governments to alter the results of an election or undermine democracies using social media and other means. Writes Jakub Ferenčík in his last EU MONITOR.
Zjistit více PDFThe head of our Brussels office, Žiga Faktor, commented for ČTK on Saturday's victory of Petr Pavel in the presidential elections on the relationship with the EU and NATO. He mentioned that Pavel's accession could bring about a unification of the foreign policy of the government and the Foreign Ministry. He also suggested that the newly elected president would have better relations with the United States
Zjistit víceThe head of our Brussels office, Žiga Faktor, appeared on Czech Television to comment on the reaction of Brussels to the results of the presidential elections. He also mentioned the role of the president in relation to the EU and NATO and how this relationship will change after two terms of Miloš Zeman.
Zjistit víceThe recent US midterm elections made headlines around the world. The main issues that voters were interested in were the state of democracy and the rule of law, abortion, the economy and education. Our intern Tomáš Moudrý addressed these topics in his blog. "The most expensive midterms in the US history are over. Republicans gained the House majority with 221 seats and the Democrats retained the Senate with 51 seats. Is this a surprising result? Partly yes, partly no. Firstly, polls and even Republicans were sure about a “Red wave“ that would sweep across the US. Instead, there was a tossup in both Chambers of the Congress. Secondly, the President’s party usually lose the midterms. One can argue that midterms from the incumbent President’s party perspective traditionally have just one major goal – to mitigate losses by the closest possible margin. The Democrats seem to have found a way to deal with this fate, despite Biden's low approval rating."
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