In the Media

Germany and the European Commission resolve a dispute over internal combustion engines. Synthetic fuels get an exemption. However, the details of the new agreement have not yet been made public. Our researcher Vít Havelka tells TA3 what this means for motorists and the economy.

Our analyst Zuzana Stuchlíková commented on the results of the summit in Brussels for TA3. In the first part of the summit, European leaders addressed not only the issue of support for Ukraine but also topics such as the European response to the American Inflation Reduction Act or the issue of the stability of European banks.

Our researcher Vít Havelka for Studio ČT24 evaluated the second day of the EU summit in Brussels. The most important topics were the consecration of the supply of ammunition to Ukraine financed by the European Union, as well as the discussion of the shape of the single market and the reaction to the American package to limit inflation.

During the morning news on Czech Radio Plus, Tomáš Pavlíček talked with our researcher Jana Juzová about the potential new steps of the European Union and its individual states in support of Ukraine, which will be discussed at the Eurosummit.

After long negotiations, according to the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, on Saturday, March 18, the representatives of Serbia and Kosovo agreed on the final form of the agreement, which is supposed to ensure the normalization of relations between the two countries. Serbia does not recognize the independence of its former province, and relations have further escalated over the past year and a half over a dispute over the recognition of identity documents and vehicle registration plates issued by the two entities. The heated atmosphere in the war-torn region has attracted enormous attention from the US and the European Union, and both sides have invested significant efforts towards calming the situation and formulating an agreement to prevent similar situations in the future.

Our senior researcher Klára Votavová described the tense situation in France, where protests over pension reform have been ongoing for several weeks.

Our senior research fellow Kateřina Davidová commented for E15 on two proposals to boost Europe's green economy.

The future of cars with exhausts is stirring Europe. That is why Czech Transport Minister Martin Kupka (ODS) went to Strasbourg to discuss the promotion of "realistic" rules. He is partly right. However, in the fight for synthetic fuels, which has been launched by the Germans, realism is clearly on the side of a proposal that has long been on the table. And whose future is now being threatened by Kupka and co. The commentary was written by our senior researcher Vít Havelka.

This week, the European Commission will present two important proposals to the public - the Critical Raw Materials Act and the Net-Zero Industry Act. Both regulations are a response to the US Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and aim to make the European economy more competitive and prevent a mass exodus of companies and technological innovation to the United States, Kateřina Davidová, our senior researcher, contributed to this topic.

Relatively unnoticed, in August of last year, the Congress of the United States of America voted to pass the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This decision may be one of the most important steps in the fight against climate change this decade. Inflation Reduction Act is a massive investment package that can fundamentally affect the current approach of Europe and other countries to green transformation. The transition to clean technologies, research, development, and production, can no longer be perceived purely as a question of reducing emissions, but also as a question of maintaining competitiveness on the global market. The green race has started and the Czech Republic should step up.

Last August, a decision was made that may be one of the most important steps in the fight against climate change this decade. Relatively unnoticed, the United States Congress voted to pass the Inflation Reduction Act. This is a massive investment package that could fundamentally affect the way Europe and other countries have approached the green transformation to date.

Our senior researcher Kateřina Davidová commented for ČRo Plus on the postponement of the vote to end the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines, which is to apply from 2035. Its final approval was not supported at the last minute by Germany, which is concerned that the proposal does not include an exemption for vehicles that would burn synthetic fuels.