Orsolya Ráczová writes that it is difficult to predict the long-term effects of war with certainty, yet it is essential to be aware of the fact that the longer a war continues, the more dire its long-term impact becomes. The era of relative peace and stability in Europe is over, security should no longer be taken for granted. Europe needs to rethink its security at EU, NATO and Member State level. It is also essential to strike the right balance to ensure security at home while providing much-needed support to Ukraine.

Miroslava Pisklová writes about a discussion on potential broadening of the qualified majority voting (QMV) system to more of the remaining policy areas in the Council of the EU in which it is not yet used, namely the EU´s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) that has recently gained momentum. This publication aims to analyse the advantages and disadvantages of introduction of the QMV in CFSP of the EU with a focus on the potential impact on smaller member states.

Ivana Uličná writes about the fact that even though some progress has been made towards gender equality in diplomacy, women remain underrepresented in ambassadorial positions worldwide. Quotas have been effective in boosting nominal representation of women but critiques focused on quotas being tokenistic and harming meritocracy place a double burden on women. However, even the current system is not meritocratic, as men benefit from a historical advantage and assumed competence, while women must justify their presence, prove their worth and disprove gender stereotypes.

Rozálie Wünschová writes in her blog that the Czech Republic is one of only two EU countries where corporal punishment of children is still legally permitted. Together with Slovakia, this puts the Czech Republic behind not only the Nordic countries, where corporal punishment was banned in the last century but also countries such as Turkmenistan, which adopted protective legislation in 2007.

In September 2022, the European Commission put forward a proposal for a new media regulator - the European Media Freedom Act. Slovenia is one of the most struggling EU countries in terms of media freedom and independence. In the summer of 2020, the Janša government proposed a media-focused law that would increase the state's influence over Slovenia's national press agency and limit its funding of the public broadcaster RTV. Has Slovenia's new law put the European Commission ahead of the game? That is what our intern Klára Landová discusses in her blog.

We cordially invite you to a debate with Andrej Stančík on the topic "Europe in the grip of crises - What next?", which will take place on Monday 13th February at 18:00. The debate will take place in the premises of PKC (Prague Creative Centre)

A policy paper by our research intern Silke Maes entitled "EU Platform workers' directive: A test for regulating the future of work" takes a closer look at the aforementioned Directive on improving working conditions at work through platforms. The paper details the impact of the development of platforms on working conditions and then argues that the Directive is the first EU attempt to respond to this development.

Ferenc Németh, a researcher on the politics, security and integration of the Western Balkans, has written a policy paper under the project Think Visegrad in Brussels. In it he examines Serbia's foreign policy towards the European Union after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

How has the Covid-19 pandemic affected the Czechs' relationship with the European Union? This topic is addressed in a policy paper by visiting fellow Mare Ushkovska.

In 2013, the Chinese president introduced the New Silk Road project, also known as the Belt and Road Initiative. It was to connect China with countries in Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and maritime regions with the purpose to coordinate policies and link infrastructure. However, the initiative, and especially China's role in it, raises many questions and doubts. What is its future? This is what our intern Šárka Váchalová discusses in her blog.

We cordially invite you to an informal debate from the "Hospoda Evropa" series. We will talk about Europe as you see it. The debate will take place in person in Mrač on Thursday 19th January, at 18:30.

We would like to invite you to a debate on "Green Deal and the energy crisis in the Czech information space". The debate will take place on Tuesday, 17 January from 18:00 to 19:30. The debate will also be available to watch online on the Facebook event page.