European Commission

Interest in the European Parliament elections remains low, and increased turnout is not expected this year either. The Czech perception of the European Union is partly shaped by political expressions, influencing a rather eurosceptic public perception. Although Czech MEPs have the potential to contribute significantly within the Parliament, the public has only limited awareness of their work and influence. Speculations about future positions within the ECR faction and possible commissioner positions are still premature. Viktor Daněk, deputy director of the EUROPEUM Institute, opened these topics on the evening broadcast 90’ on ČT24.

Military industry in Europe is not able to cover the needs related to the supply of ammunition to Ukraine. The situation of the long-neglected EU weapons industry is now being addressed by the European Commission with financial support of 500 milion of euro. But is the decision on financial support coming too late? And how long before the industry can be renewed? Martin Vokálek, Executive Director of the EUROPEUM Institute, commented on the situation for TN.cz.

The European Parliament is now taking the European Commission to the Court of Justice of the EU over the controversial release of EU funds to Hungary. Why do some MEPs consider the release of funds to be the result of blackmail by Hungary? Why have MEPs taken the matter to court? What could the lawsuit cause comments Viktor Daněk, deputy director of EUROPEUM Institute for Czech Radio.

The head of our Brussels office, Žiga Faktor, spoke to EURACTIV.cz about the departure of Dutchman Frans Timmermans from the European Commission. The influential vice-president of the European Commission was lured by the prospect of the prime minister's chair in the Netherlands, and his boss, Ursula von der Leyen, has to manage without him. But her difficulties do not end there, a year before the European elections.

Germany and the European Commission resolve a dispute over internal combustion engines. Synthetic fuels get an exemption. However, the details of the new agreement have not yet been made public. Our researcher Vít Havelka tells TA3 what this means for motorists and the economy.

In September 2022, the European Commission put forward a proposal for a new media regulator - the European Media Freedom Act. Slovenia is one of the most struggling EU countries in terms of media freedom and independence. In the summer of 2020, the Janša government proposed a media-focused law that would increase the state's influence over Slovenia's national press agency and limit its funding of the public broadcaster RTV. Has Slovenia's new law put the European Commission ahead of the game? That is what our intern Klára Landová discusses in her blog.

The head of our Brussels office – Žiga Faktor, commented for DVTV news service on the vaccination process in Serbia and journey of the Czech PM into the country.

Our associate research fellow Zuzana Stuchlíková commented on the start of vaccination against the new type of coronavirus. Vaccination in the EU shall begin shortly after the Christmas holidays. The European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen even declared the period between 27-29 December as “vaccination days.”

We would like to invite you to a debate called "A year of the Czech European policy - how successful have we been?" organized by the EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy which will take place on Tuesday, December 8 from 5:30 PM online on our Facebook.

Kristina Gera wrote a blog post about the new European Commission proposal concerning migration.

We would like to invite you to a debate called "A year of the new European Commission" organized by the EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy which will take place on Wednesday, November 25 from 17 PM online on our Facebook.

Our researcher Jana Juzová recently published an article on the news portal Info.cz dealing with the evaluation of developments in the countries applying for EU membership. In the text, the author summarizes the outputs that the European Commission came up with in its report and also comments on possible assistance in the form of the Economic and Investment Plan.