On the 1st of May, we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Czech Republic's accession to the European Union. How did the process of approval and accession to the EU proceed at the beginning of this century? What is the attitude of Czechs towards the EU? What was the original idea of the European community? The Executive Director of EUROPEUM Institute, Martin Vokálek, answered these questions for TN Live.
Show moreSlovakia joined the European Union 20 years ago in its biggest enlargement to date. Among the main benefits of this move is an increase in the economy, up to 80%. Žiga Faktor, deputy director and head of EUROPEUM Institute's Brussels office, described the future direction of the Union.
Show moreTwenty years ago, the European Union underwent its biggest enlargement with the addition of ten Central and Eastern European countries. According to Vít Havelka, Senior Research Fellow at EUROPEUM Institute, this is enough time for all accession countries to learn how to navigate the EU institutions and its decision-making process.
Show moreThis 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.
Show moreThe last plenary session of the European Parliament before the June elections took place in Strasbourg, France. In addition to the ceremonial commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of the biggest EU enlargement to date, which also saw the Czech Republic become a member state, MEPs also discussed the Iranian attack on Israel and a regulation to combat violence against women. Martin Vokálek, director of the EUROPEUM Institute, gave a detailed analysis of the meeting for TN.cz.
Show moreWe would like to invite you to a debate on a topic "20 Years of Reuniting Europe’s East and West: Is the EU Ready for Another “Big Bang” Enlargement?" The debate will take place on Thursday, April 4, from 16:00 to 17:15 h at Prague University of Economics and Business.
Show moreEuropean Commission has recommended in its assessment report for the accession talks with Ukraine, Moldavia and Bosnia and Herzegovina to begin. The prime ministers of the bloc's countries will have the final say on the matter at the summit in the middle of December, but uninamous agreement will be needed. Will it be possible to achieve? Our deputy director Viktor Daněk has commented on the issue and further EU's reforms in an interview with the ČT24.
Show moreOur Research Fellow Jana Juzova commented on Ukraine's EU integration. Ukraine's economic level and lack of progress in democratic reforms, among other factors, complicate the EU's enlargement to include Ukraine. Accession would affect the flow of money redistributed from European funds, and Ukraine's membership would also have an impact on the EU Council's voting deliberations and the number of MEP seats.
Show moreAn online roundtable discussion took place on 17 December, and you can read a report on its proceedings. The discussion focused on media freedom in Serbia and Western Balkans.
Show moreWe are delighted to announce the launch of a project focused on support for independent Serbian journalists reporting on Serbia’s EU integration process, its obstacles in the field of democratic governance, and the rule of law and fundamental rights and freedoms, including the freedom of media. The project is supported by the Transition Promotion Program of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and implemented together with the Centre for Contemporary Politics from Serbia.
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