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Žiga Faktor

Deputy Director & Head of Brussels Office

Žiga Faktor

Deputy Director & Head of Brussels Office

Žiga Faktor worked as the head of the Brussels office of EUROPEUM until January 2025. From his position, he focused on the functioning of the European institutions, the process of European integration and enlargement policy, regional cooperation of the countries of Central Europe, relations with the countries of the Western Balkans and Turkey, and Slovenia's internal policy. Other points of interest are the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and Northern Ireland.

Žiga Faktor received a Master's degree in International Politics from the State University of Milan in Italy and a Bachelor's degree in International Relations and European Studies from the Metropolitan University of Prague. He spent a semester studying at the University of Limerick in Ireland. He started working at EUROPEUM in 2018 as an intern and later on worked as a project manager. In the past, he also participated in the organization of the Prague European Summit from the position of the programme manager.

DELO: A social democrat according to Orbán and Putin's wishes

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2. 10. 2023

What could Robert Fico's return to the head of Slovakian government mean for the European Union? Žiga Faktor, director of our office in Brussels, commented on the topic on Saturday for the Slovenian newspaper DELO.

Aktuálně.cz: Good, but not very specific. Czechs missed a lot in von der Leyen's speech

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18. 9. 2023

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.

RTVS: Review of Ursula von der Leyen's latest State of the Union speech

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13. 9. 2023

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.

ČT24: How did the European commission under Ursula von der Leyen's leadership manage to overcome crises?

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11. 9. 2023

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.

ČRo Plus: Proposal for a radical reform of the functioning of the European Union

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8. 9. 2023

Žiga Faktor, director of the EUROPEUM Institute's Brussels office, commented for Czech Radio Plus on a proposal for a radical reform of the functioning of the European Union, which would have to be approved by all member states. Among the changes mentioned would be, for example, the renaming of the European Commission.

ČRo Plus: What outlook does North Macedonia have for joining the European Union?

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29. 8. 2023

Czech president Petr Pavel welcomed the President of North Macedonia, Steve Pendarovski, at Prague Castle. According to the Castle, the invitation to the Czech Republic is intended to express the support for the country's move towards the European Union. For Český Rozhlas Plus, the head of our Brussels office, Žiga Faktor, commented on the current events in North Macedonia.

EURACTIV.cz: "Being prime minister is still more than being a heavyweight in Brussels." Boss von der Leyen is falling apart Commission

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27. 7. 2023

The 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.

Analysis | Reinvigorating the EU enlargement policy: Phasing-in as a way to overcome the enlargement impasse

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30. 6. 2023

In this paper, Jana Juzová, together with Žiga Faktor and Constanza Celoria, are providing a comprehensive analysis of the proposals initiated by the think-tank community as well as the current initiatives and discussions at the EU level; they are identifying opportunities and areas where tangible progress can be achieved, and providing recommendations to policymakers on how to turn these concepts into reality in the foreseeable future.

Internship offer: internship in our Brussels office (autumn/winter 2023)

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26. 6. 2023

The EUROPEUM Brussels Office is offering internships from September 2023 to January 2024. More information about the offer can be found in the attached PDF file below.

Radiožurnál: Hungary without the Presidency? A slap in the face for Orbán and a sign of EU frustration with his policies, says expert

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13. 6. 2023

In 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.

National Convention on the EU | Recommendation: the European political community and its future potential

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7. 6. 2023

Our Senior Research Fellow Jana Juzová and the Head of the Brussels Office Žiga Faktor have elaborated the recommendations resulting from the roundtable of the National Convention on the EU. You can find out what these recommendations are in the article.