In the Media

Czech Minister of Transport Martin Kupka announced at the end of September, following the example of Italy, that the revision of the end of internal combustion engines should take place earlier than in the originally planned 2026. Rebeka Hengalová, researcher at EUROPEUM Institute, commented for Ekonomický deník.

The European Commission sues Hungary over a law protecting national sovereignty. According to Brussels, it violates, among other things, several fundamental freedoms of the internal market or EU data protection laws. Budapest defends the law on the grounds that it is necessary to protect it from foreign political interference. For example, it prohibits political parties standing for election from being financed by anyone from abroad. Martin Vokálek, Executive Director of EUROPEUM Institute, commented for main evening broadcast on TV Nova.

In a comprehensive analysis, renowned economist and former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi warned EU countries that if their economies continue to grow as they have been, they are in for "slow agony". Well, stagnation. According to the former chief of the European Central Bank, the EU economies will be as large in 2050 as they are today, mainly because the number of people of working age will fall. The only way to reverse this trend is for EU countries to significantly increase their productivity. However, productivity in Europe has grown much more slowly in recent years than in the United States, for example. Filip Křenek, project coordinator and analyst at EUROPEUM Institute, commented for Hospodářské noviny.

The far-right Freedom party of Austria won country's parliamentary elections. Žiga Faktor, deputy director and head of the EUROPEUM Institute's Brussels office, commented for foreign desk broadcast on ČT24 on the results to the National Council, the lower house of parliament.

The historic success of the Freedom Party of Austria and the dramatic defeat of the ruling People's Party are the results of Sunday's Austrian National Council elections, according to the local media. The Social Democrats are likely to face another reboot and there is no room for small parties in parliament. On Monday night, the Austrian authorities officially published the results of the vote, which are being reported across Europe. Žiga Faktor, Deputy Director and head of Brussels office of EUROPEUM Institute commented for Czech TV.

Austria, led by the right-wing populist Freedom Party of Austria, could pose a problem for support for Ukraine, said Žiga Faktor, head of the Brussels office of EUROPEUM Institute, in an interview with ČTK. At the same time, he said, it would change the distribution of power within the European Council, specifically, the EU summits, where a strong group of prime ministers from the Patriots for Europe faction would be formed.

One of the main tasks for Jozef Síkela, if he becomes EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, will be to manage the EU's Global Gateway project. The EU wants to counter China's expansion in Africa, Asia and Latin America with it. So far, however, this initiative has fallen well short of its ambitions. And that is not the only problem Síkela will have to face. Zuzana Krulichová, a Global Gateway expert from EUROPEUM Institute, talked about this on the podcast Bruselské chebíčky on Czech Radio.

According to Politico, two thousand people have sent their CVs to the future head of the EU's common foreign policy, Kaja Kallas. This way they are applying for a place in her cabinet, i.e. in the team of her closest collaborators. Including assistants, there are usually up to 20 people in the cabinets of individual commissioners. Viktor Daněk, deputy director of the EUROPEUM Institute, and Filip Křenek, EUROPEUM analyst, commented for Hospodářské noviny.

The main man in charge of migration in the new European Commission will be Austrian Magnus Brunner. The Commission's head Ursula von der Leyen has also given the topic of migration partly to the Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela, to focus, among other things, on the fight against smugglers. The migration pact is not expected to change. Viktor Daněk, deputy director of EUROPEUM Institute, commented for Novinky.cz.

The draft composition of the new European Commission is already known, the names of the Commissioners were announced by President Ursula von der Leyen a week ago. The candidate for the sustainable transport and tourism portfolio is Apostolos Tzitzikostas, who has served as governor of the Greek region of Central Macedonia since 2013. Following the announcement on LinkendIn, Tzitzikostas himself considers it a great honour and responsibility for him to be entrusted. Deputy Director Viktor Daněk commented for Ekonomický deník.

In a report to the European Commission, Mario Draghi, former Italian Prime Minister and head of the European Central Bank, warns that without massive investment in green technology, digitalization and defense, Europe will lose its competitiveness. The report was commented by Associate Research Fellow at EUROPEUM Institute Klára Votavová.

The new composition of the European Commission and the distribution of portfolios caused puzzlement in Prague. The head of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, entrusted Jozef Síkela with the agenda of International Partnership and Global Gateway – a name that, apart from a handful of insiders in the Czech Republic, few people have heard of, instead of the long-talked about energy sector or international trade. EUROPEUM Institute analyst Zuzana Krulichová commented for Hospodářské noviny.