Euractive | EU strengthened resilience, now security will be a priority

This year the Czech Republic celebrates twenty years of membership in the European Union. In the meantime, the EU has gone through turbulent years associated with a series of crises - from economic to migration to pandemic and security. However, the wealth of the Czechs has increased by more than 40 percent over the years and the standard of living has reached 90 percent of the European average. This is according to data presented by the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic on the occasion of the anniversary, while Czech exports grew by more than 320 percent thanks to EU membership. Žiga Faktor, head of EUROPEUM Institute's Brussels office, comments for Euractive on the other challenges the EU now faces.

"Within the framework of security, we can talk about many subtopics, not just the 'hard' topics like defence. There will also be the topic of enlargement and there will also be the geopolitical element of a strong Europe, industry, digital issues in terms of defence or the energy agenda."

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Žiga Faktor
Deputy Director & Head of Brussels Office

Expertise: European integration of Western Balkans, EU enlargement, Slovenian Politics and EU-Turkey relations