Czech Republic

There are few more influential civil service jobs in Brussels than those in the cabinets of the most important politicians. Czech diplomat Veronika Musilová is now starting to work in just such a position. She is joining Antonio Costa, who will be president of the European Council from 1st December. Viktor Daněk, deputy director of EUROPEUM Institute, commented for Hospodářské noviny.

The government has partially adopted rules for emissions trading based on European regulations. However, failure to adopt some key aspects could lead to problems, including possible fines from the European Union. The main issues are the sharing of profits from allowances and the protection of vulnerable groups from rising energy costs. Rebeka Hengalová, an researcher at EUROPEUM Institute, commented for Ekonews.

With the opening of accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova and the granting of candidate status to Georgia, questions about the functioning of the European Union after enlargement have been raised more and more frequently recently, and it is becoming clear that the Union cannot do without significant reforms. What is the Czech Republic's position on this? Our senior researcher Jana Juzová answers this question in an article for Lidové noviny.

Europeum, in cooperation with the analytical institute STEM, prepared a survey on the subject of the Czech Republic's membership in the EU and the adoption of the euro currency. For E15, researcher Klára Votavová and senior researcher Vít Havelka commented on the topic.

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.

President Petr Pavel headed to Brussels, where our country has the potential to increase its influence, and the head of state can only help this. In the last year, our country has proven that it can not only point out problems, but also propose solutions. An example is support for Ukraine, writes the head of the Brussels office Žiga Faktor.

Relatively unnoticed, in August of last year, the Congress of the United States of America voted to pass the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This decision may be one of the most important steps in the fight against climate change this decade. Inflation Reduction Act is a massive investment package that can fundamentally affect the current approach of Europe and other countries to green transformation. The transition to clean technologies, research, development, and production, can no longer be perceived purely as a question of reducing emissions, but also as a question of maintaining competitiveness on the global market. The green race has started and the Czech Republic should step up.

Last August, a decision was made that may be one of the most important steps in the fight against climate change this decade. Relatively unnoticed, the United States Congress voted to pass the Inflation Reduction Act. This is a massive investment package that could fundamentally affect the way Europe and other countries have approached the green transformation to date.

How has the Covid-19 pandemic affected the Czechs' relationship with the European Union? This topic is addressed in a policy paper by visiting fellow Mare Ushkovska.

When will the Czech Republic be ready to adopt the euro, as it committed to when it joined the EU. Why do we not have the euro yet and what will be the impact of its adoption? Our intern Šárka Váchalová covered this topic in her blog.

Tatiana Mindeková, our project manager and junior researcher, wrote a blog named “How do Czech and Slovak governmental parties perceive the EU Green Deal? Online monitoring of Facebook posts”. In this blog, Tatiana analysed approaches of Czech and Slovak parliamentary parties to the European Green Deal and identified whether the parties and their representatives are supportive or critical towards it.

We would like to invite you to the discussion titled: "EU as a Task: Presentation of policy priorities of the Czech presidency to the Council of EU", which will take place on Monday 20th June, from 17:00 at the House of European History, Rue Belliard 135, 1000 Bruxelles. The event is organised by EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy and the Permanent Representation of the Czech Republic to the European Union.