A diplomatic rift has erupted between Budapest and Warsaw over the different attitudes of the two countries towards Russia. First, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán branded Poland as the country with the most hypocritical policy in Europe, while the Poles hit back by pointing out the close relations Orbán maintains with Russian President Putin. The media are also talking about the possible end of the V4 group. EUROPEUM Institute researcher Vít Havelka spoke more about the dispute in an interview with TN.cz.
Show moreRussian oil from Lukoil still isn’t flowing through Ukraine to Slovakia and Hungary. In June, Ukraine unilaterally decided to ban the transit of Lukoil oil through its territory, as the company was added to its sanctions list. Slovakia and Hungary have turned to the European Commission for help in resolving the issue. What can the EU do about this situation? What role does the Association Agreement with Ukraine play in resolving this dispute? Viktor Daněk, Deputy Director of EUROPEUM Institute, comments on the situation.
Show morePerformances of previous Czech presidents, the contribution of the Czech EU Commissioner Věra Jourová, roaming and reverse charge and the assessment of the Czech Republic as the country of EU Presidency. The topics of the Czech Radio series on Czech footsteps in the European Union were commented by Viktor Daněk, Deputy Director of EUROPEUM Institute.
Show moreThe EU's proactive stance, introduced in the Critical Raw Material Strategy and later Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), drives the EU approach to secure the supply of European/domestic critical raw materials for EV battery production. The Cinovec project has a large economic potential as it enhances the ability to secure domestic and regional supply of lithium, which is otherwise very geographically concentrated outside of Europe. Europe relies on a handful of countries, particularly China, for the import of lithium for the production of EV batteries.
Show moreThe information about an EU-wide ban on gas and coal boilers, that has been recently circulating on social media, is not true. The aim of the new European directive is not to ban them, but to promote the phasing out of these boilers in line with the 2050 carbon neutrality targets. Viktor Daněk, deputy director of the EUROPEUM Institute, described the nature of the directive to the iROZHLAS.cz project Ověřovna.
Show moreThe energy transition focuses on the swift and full decarbonization of our economies by moving away from fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas and oil towards carbon-free and preferably renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, geothermal, bioenergy and hydropower. The global community agreed to limiting the global average temperature to 1.5C to prevent worsening of potentially irreversible effects of climate change. Writes Jonathan Lyons.
Show moreThe 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.
Show moreOne of the biggest obstacles to solving the climate crisis is fossil fuel subsidies. However, they have not received much attention in the Czech Republic. An Op-Ed on this topic was written by our Senior Research Fellow Kateřina Davidová.
Show moreThe 28th UN Climate Summit, or COP28, kicks off in Dubai on Thursday. EUROPEUM Senior Research Fellow Kateřina Davidová commented on the summit's direction.
Show more"Europe must stand behind Israel and support its right to exist. But that does not mean that it should take a completely unilateral position on the Gaza conflict. It would pay the price for that", says Luuk van Middelaar, a professor and one of the most respected commentators on events in the European Union, in an interview with Hospodářské noviny. Midelaar participated in the Prague European Summit organised, among others, by the EUROPEUM Institute.
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