Europeum

RTVS | EU leaders summit decides to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova

December 15, 2023

Viktor Orbán leaves the room before the vote on the opening of accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, showing his position but not blocking the move. How did the other heads of state convince him? What can we expect from the Hungarian Prime Minister in the future? Martin Vokálek, Executive Director of the EUROPEUM Institute, answered these questions for Slovak RTVS.

E15 | Summit in Brussels will show if Orbán is Putin's Trojan horse in the EU

December 14, 2023

Viktor Orbán is the only EU leader who has stated in advance that he does not intend to support the opening of accession negotiations with Ukraine. The question is what his motivations are and whether he will be softened by the unblocking of EU funding for Hungary. Our senior researcher Jana Juzová commented on Orbán's position at the Summit for the daily E15.

ČT24 | Ukraine as the main topic of the ongoing EU summit

December 14, 2023

Ukraine is a central topic on the agenda of the ongoing EU summit in Brussels, both in terms of the beginning of accession talks and the provision of further financial aid to Ukraine. Does this agenda stand a chance of being approved? And what happens if Hungary decides to block the negotiations? Our senior researcher Jana Juzová spoke about the topic in an interview with ČT24.

ČRo Plus | EU foreign ministers to meet in Brussels. They will discuss Israel and Ukraine again

December 11, 2023

Israel will again be one of the main topics of the meeting of EU foreign ministers. However, they will also focus on accession negotiations with new countries, including Ukraine. The Director of our Brussels office, Žiga Faktor, commented on the Foreign Affairs Council meeting on ČRo Plus.

FORUM 24 | Ukraine's accession will mean changes for the European Union itself

November 16, 2023

In its assessment report, the European Commission recommended EU leaders to open accession negotiations with Ukraine, which is to be decided at the European Council in mid-December. But admitting such a large country, which also neighbours Russia, would mean the EU would require internal reforms in order to uphold the principles on which the Union now operates. In her commentary for FORUM 24, our senior researcher and head of the Global Europe programme describes how would Ukraine's membership change the EU and its institutions.

Op-Ed | The grain dispute is the first sign that Ukraine's EU accession will not be easy. What obstacles await on this path?

May 02, 2023

The Ukrainian grain situation is making waves in Europe. Deputy Director and Head of the Brussels Office Ziga Faktor wrote an Op-Ed about the impact of the situation on the country's EU accession and how some member states are reacting.

POLICY PAPER | Demand the impossible: How Ukraine became a candidate for EU membership

February 20, 2023

Tomasz Żornaczuk writes that Russia's aggression in Ukraine has led to major changes in EU enlargement in 2022. The most significant of these was the change in the Union's geographical position after Ukraine and Moldova were granted EU candidate status and Georgia was granted the prospect of accession. The move seemed almost impossible a few weeks before it became the new political reality in June 2022.

Blog | New Hope on the Horizon? The Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue and the European Union's Struggle Towards a Diplomatic Victory

December 01, 2022

In her blog, our intern Barbora Volkova discusses the new Franco-German proposal regarding the Kosovo-Serbia disputes. She analyses what this initiative entails and what relevance it may have for the accession negotiations within the European Union.

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Background Paper Think Tank Forum | Can the EU enlargement process be finally revitalized?

October 26, 2022

This article was written as background material for a panel discussion at the Think Tank Forum: EU Enlargement. The author of the article is senior researcher Jana Juzová. In the article, she discusses, for example, whether the war in Ukraine will speed up the accession negotiations of the Western Balkan countries to the EU.

Aktuálně.cz: Macedonians and Albanians start negotiations on EU accession. Fiala flies to Brussels for this

July 19, 2022

The leaders of Northern Macedonia and Albania will open their countries' accession talks to the European Union in Brussels on Tuesday, something for which Northern Macedonia has been waiting for over 17 years and Albania for eight. The head of our Brussels office, Žiga Faktor, commented on this fact for Aktuálně.cz. Faktor also commented on the agreement between North Macedonia and Bulgaria, which opened the way for North Macedonia to join the EU. Faktor believes that the EU may have set a precedent by allowing bilateral historical and cultural disputes to become part of the accession process.