Europeum

Policy Paper | 20 years of cohesion policy as a "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts"?

April 29, 2024

It has been 20 years since the Czech Republic and 9 other Central, Southern and Eastern European countries joined the European Union. This was on the promise of increased prosperity and the so-called economic catching-up of the post-communist part of Europe. Cohesion policy was to play a key role here. Vít Havelka writes in his Policy Paper.

Policy paper | Current EU industrial policy undermines economic convergence between old and new EU countries

April 29, 2024

The post-communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, including the Czech Republic, joined the European Union at the height of globalisation and the dominance of the so-called Washington Consensus policies. However, the global economic crisis of 2008 showed shortly afterwards that these policies had their limits. Read more in Klára Votavová's Policy Pepeu.

Policy paper | Have we caught up with the West? - 20 years of convergence through the lens of wage levels

April 29, 2024

This year, the EU marks the anniversary of the biggest wave of enlargement in its history, when the Czech Republic joined the Union along with nine other Central and Eastern European countries. One of the main promises associated with enlargement was that the new Member States would catch up with Western Europe in terms of living standards. Read more in Silke Maes' policy paper.

Policy Paper | Climate Change and Food Resilience in Africa and the Middle East

April 29, 2024

Russia's war in Ukraine has destabilised supply chains and strained food systems in Africa and the Middle East, highlighting their vulnerability and the need to increase their resilience. Writes Clément Steuer, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of International Relations Prague.

Policy Paper | Climate Change and Food Resilience in Africa and the Middle East

April 29, 2024

Ruská válka na Ukrajině destabilizovala dodavatelský řetězec a zatížila potravinové systémy Afriky a Blízkého východu, což zdůraznilo jejich zranitelnost a potřebu zvýšit jejich odolnost. Píše Clément Steuer, seniorní výzkumník v Ústavu pro mezinárodní vztahy v Praze.

Policy Paper | Barriers and benefits of energy communities in the European Union

March 21, 2024

Energy communities are an effective means to decentralize and renew our energy systems with sustainable solutions as they are usually based on renewable energy. They have already started emerging in 1970´s, yet there has been a significant increase in their development only in recent years, also in terms of their introduction into the EU legislation. Especially in Western and Northern European countries the concept already enjoys vast popularity. On the other hand, in Central and Eastern European countries (further referred to as CEE) energy communities are only beginning to emerge. The policy brief (based on literature and interviews with various stakeholders ) examines the benefits energy communities may bring, and more importantly, the main obstacles remaining in their way for greater evolution in the CEE region – and especially Visegrad countries (V4). As these initiatives progress, sharing the best practices will ensure the success of the community energy in the energy transition. Writes Alžbeta Gavalcová.

TN.cz | Report on the EU internal market has a huge importance for Czechia

April 17, 2024

During the recent summit, politicians came to discuss key issues regarding the situation in Ukraine, the Middle East, relations with Turkey, and the competitiveness of the European Union against the United States and China. Executive Director of the EUROPEUM Institute, Martin Vokálek, provided commentary for TN.cz. According to him, it is crucial for Czech politicians and diplomats to be actively engaged in these discussions.

Dvacet minut Radiožurnálu | Summit in Brussels: Ukraine needs investment in offensive capabilities

April 17, 2024

At Brussels, on April 17th and 18th, an extraordinary summit of European Union took place. Originally it was intended to focus on enhancing the bloc's competitiveness, but the agenda of the meeting shifted towards discussing military support for Ukraine, and the situation in the Middle East. Viktor Daněk, deputy director of the Institute of European Policy EUROPEUM provided analysis on the topic for a daily episode of Dvacet minut Radiožurnálu.

TN.cz | Meeting of the Visegrad Group Foreign Ministers

March 21, 2024

The current format of the Visegrad Group lacks common topics; the group fragmented into two pairs that have different opinions in many areas, particularly regarding the issue of Ukraine. However, the interests of Hungary and Slovakia are not in conflict with others, despite what their leaders claim. The conflict in the Middle East, where the Czech Republic is in the minority in its full support of Israel, was also discussed on this meeting. Viktor Daněk, deputy director of EUROPEUM Institute, commented on the situation within the V4 for TN Live.

Policy Paper | Will the future of the EU be driven top-down or bottom up?

September 25, 2023

Read the article by Markéta Pekarčíková, who has written a policy paper on possible approaches and proposals that the European Union could follow or at least be inspired by. It provides a theoretical perspective on the future of the European Union as perceived by the previous European Commission under the leadership of Jean-Claude Juncker. The EU27 was to decide its future by 2025.