analysis

Through interviews with officials and other relevant actors at national and regional level, this research report identifies conditions for regional preparedness to draw on the Just Transition Fund. Researcher at EUROPEUM Institute Klára Votavová compares the situation in two of the three Czech regions that are drawing on the Fund: Moravian-Silesian and Karlovy Vary Region.

The aim of this research report is to determine, through interviews with officials and other relevant stakeholders, whether the Czech public administration has sufficient capacity and organisational capability to effectively draw down funds from the Just Transition Fund. The author of the publication is Klára Votavová, researcher at EUROPEUM Institute.

Discussions on further changes to the enlargement methodology may reinforce the image of EU membership as a moving target with constantly changing rules, especially as the current methodology has still not been fully applied. Within the framework of the current methodology, the European Commission should develop a new strategy that would specify its approach to the gradual integration of (potential) candidates into the EU and the conditions governing this process. The 2018 Western Balkans Strategy set out initiatives, some of which are still valid today and can serve as the basis for a new enlargement strategy. Writes Jana Juzová, Senior Research Fellow.

In this paper, Jana Juzová, together with Žiga Faktor and Constanza Celoria, are providing a comprehensive analysis of the proposals initiated by the think-tank community as well as the current initiatives and discussions at the EU level; they are identifying opportunities and areas where tangible progress can be achieved, and providing recommendations to policymakers on how to turn these concepts into reality in the foreseeable future.

A new international analysis points to the Czech Republic as a leader of liberal values in Central and Eastern Europe. Twice as many people trust the President than last year, when Miloš Zeman was still head of state. The analysis was prepared by Globsec, a prestigious think tank based in Bratislava. Our senior Research Fellow Klára Votavová also commented on the issue.

Christian Kvorning Lassen, Deputy Director and Head of Research at our Institute, together with other experts, spoke to the online news server E15.cz and described possible scenarios of how the war in Ukraine could end. The article thus describes five possible scenarios - both the more optimistic ones for Ukraine and the less favourable ones.

Vít Havelka and Zuzana Stuchlíková from EUROPEUM Institute for European policy conducted an analysis of the activity of the Czech MEPs during the 2014–2019 term. The analysis combines quantitative and qualitative methods of research (including the interviews). The text contains, for example, the factors influencing MEPs' success, the impact of the national interests on their work, evaluations and recommendations.

Gentiola Madhi authored, within the Think Visegrad Non-V4 Fellowship programme, an analysis on the state of the affairs of regional cooperation in the Western Balkans.

In the second half of 2017, we at CENS had the great privilege to collaborate with our partners at the Budapest Office of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung to host and co-organize a series of events on key issues of contemporary Europe.

Tomáš Dvořák, Jan Zouhar and Jakub Novák authored an analysis of the results of a unique research, which for the first time in the context of the Czech Republic demonstrates what impact does direct democracy at the local level have on further political involvement of the citizens.

Michal Vít looks at the Czech Republic's reactions to the recent Polish parliamentary elections.

Martin Mejstřík, EUROPEUM's affiliated fellow, analysed the reforms of Italian state under the country's new prime minister Matteo Renzi.