Articles Archive

EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy is currently looking for a Head of the Green Europe Research Program, focusing on topics such as EU climate policy, industrial decarbonization, clean tech, the competitiveness of the EU and the Czech Republic, the EU’s role as a global player, just transition, climate adaptation, transport poverty, EU funds, cohesion policy, and economic security.

The European Union is facing a dual challenge. The European Parliament is discussing continued military aid to Ukraine, while also having to respond to potential trade restrictions from the United States. Both issues raise the question of Europe’s self-sufficiency and its ability to defend its own interests. Deputy Director of the EUROPEUM Institute, Viktor Daněk, commented on the situation for CNN Prima News.

While transport poverty does not affect the majority of the population, available data shows that it impacts a significant and growing portion of Czech society, making it a serious issue that cannot be overlooked or expected to resolve itself over time. This policy paper by research fellow Rebeka Hengalová and head of Green Europe programme Jana Abíková details the experiences of transport-poor citizens, outlines good practice of measures from abroad and explains the potential utilisation of the Social Climate Fund in alleviating transport poverty.

This project examines the potential impacts of the EU Emissions Trading System 2 (ETS2) on Europe’s most vulnerable households, with a particular focus on mitigating risks that could lead to public resistance against the EU’s transport decarbonization policies. Its activities aim to contribute to the mainstreaming of the concept of transport poverty, its causes and solutions, in the Czech context.

Emission allowances for transport and housing are due to come into force in 2027. Prime Minister Petr Fiala wants to postpone the directive by at least one year. The ANO movement, on the other hand, intends to abolish it altogether if it comes to power. However, if the Czech Republic does not adopt the EU directive, it faces financial penalties. Filip Křenek, an analyst at the EUROPEUM Institute, commented on the situation for CNN Prima News.

Hungary is facing elections in a year's time and pre-election polls predict that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party could end up in opposition. "Orbán has the lowest support since 2010 and he realises it. With his actions against the opposition, LGBT and others, he is trying to keep the conservative core of his voters," said Oszkár Roginer-Hofmeister, a Hungarian analyst at the EUROPEUM Institute, in an interview with iROZHLAS.cz.

The Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) is the EU's key instrument for determining the expenditure and revenue components of the common European budget. The negotiations on the long-term budget are among the most important and lengthy at European level. It decides on overall spending in traditional areas such as agriculture and cohesion, but also on new priorities such as defence and competitiveness. The European Commission is expected to present its proposal for the 2028-2034 financial framework by mid-2025, but informal discussions on the shape of the proposal are already taking place at both working and political level - the new European Commissioner for Budgets is now touring Member States and the Commission has launched a public consultation on the subject. The Commission has already presented the broad outlines of the next MFF, including a greater focus on efficiency, added value and simplification. It has also stressed the need for more flexibility to make the budget more responsive to crises. The number of (old) new priorities, including defence, climate and competitiveness, also raises the question of the size of the next European budget and new own resources. The current debate on the Czech priorities for the next MFF is therefore more than appropriate and the Czech Republic should actively enter into negotiations at the European level. The background paper for the round table of the National Convention on the EU was prepared by Josef Bič (FSV VŠE) and Filip Křenek (EUROPEUM).

The European Union refuses to make energy cheaper by abolishing emission allowances, even though Czech economists and businessmen believe this would bring the greatest relief. Instead, it is coming up with its own plan to lower electricity and gas prices. Filip Křenek, an analyst at the Europeum Institute, commented on the situation for iDnes.

France and the UK will send a team of experts to Ukraine to assess the needs of the military there. The announcement was made at a summit of the coalition of the willing in Paris, where representatives of thirty countries, including the Czech delegation led by Prime Minister Petr Fiala, met. What else did the summit bring? And what direction can the peace talks take in the coming weeks? Martin Vokálek, Director General of the EUROPEUM Institute, commented on the situation for Czech Radio Plus.

In 2019, the green agenda became the flagship of the European Commission’s politics in the face of the European Green Deal. Five years later, the re-elected Ursula von der Leyen would like to keep this agenda as the number one priority for the next political cycle, expressing this goal also in her political guidelines. Meanwhile, major geopolitical events during the last couple of years have led to an unprecedented interest in the security of energy and raw material supplies. These topics started to gain significant attention during the Covid-19 pandemic, then surged further in the following energy crises, and finally peaked after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war. Even though the question of energy and supply security has global implications and is being discussed globally, Europe was particularly affected by these aforementioned events, writes Gábor Papp, a Research Fellow at the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs, in his policy brief.

European carmakers have been investing in the US for decades and therefore consider the introduction of tariffs a low blow. Donald Trump's decision to impose 25% tariffs on cars made outside the US has also been criticised by the European car industry association ACEA. According to the manufacturers, the new measure will also indirectly affect the Czech company Skoda and its suppliers. How big a hit this will be depends on the specific list of products to which the duties will apply - which is not yet known. However, the Ministry of Industry and Trade reassures that the impact on the Czech Republic should be rather moderate. Filip Křenek, an analyst at the EUROPEUM Institute, commented on the situation for CNN Prima News.

In our first ever interview, we met Jovana Jović Tadić, Project Manager at EUROPEUM Institute, who presented the JustGreen project.