NATO

This year will see the expected renewal of top posts in NATO and, after the European Parliament elections, also in the European Union. These positions are traditionally filled by candidates from the wealthy countries of Western and Southern Europe, and to a lesser extent Northern Europe. The countries of Eastern and Central Europe have so far, even after years of membership, still been overlooked. Poland is the only country from the region to have been awarded one of the bloc’s senior positions in the past with Donald Tusk and Jerzy Buzek leading the European Council and European Parliament respectively. Viktor Daněk, deputy director of the EUROPEUM Institute, spoke about the selections of candidates for Deník N.

Our Research Fellow Danielle Piatkiewicz co-edited a report made in partnership with the Global Policy Research Group. In an era marked by shifting geopolitical landscapes, the Nordic and Central/Eastern European countries hold key strategic positions within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Following the recently concluded NATO Summit in Vilnius, it's clear that the Alliance stands at a crossroads. The summit underscored the importance of member nations harmonizing their aspirations, capabilities, and strategic priorities. The report delves into both past and current policy initiatives to offer insights into the legacy of cooperation and strategic positioning of these nations.

Nilsu Eledağ has written a blog about Türkiye's role in determining Sweden's NATO membership and concerns about terrorism and anti-Islamist movements. Türkiye took a slight turn in foreign policy and now plays a closer game with NATO allies. There could be two reasons behind why Türkiye chose to shift towards the West. Find out more in Eledağs blog.

Our research fellow Danielle Piatkiewicz commented on Finland's readiness to join NATO on Czech Television.

The head of our Brussels office, Žiga Faktor, commented for ČTK on Saturday's victory of Petr Pavel in the presidential elections on the relationship with the EU and NATO. He mentioned that Pavel's accession could bring about a unification of the foreign policy of the government and the Foreign Ministry. He also suggested that the newly elected president would have better relations with the United States

Our research fellow Danielle Piatkiewicz has written a policy paper on "Evaluating Transatlantic Relations in Times of Conflict", in which she discusses issues such as transatlantic security, the new European security architecture, and NATO's renewed purpose. She concludes with further steps on how the transatlantic community can work together in times of conflict.

The head of our Brussels office, Žiga Faktor, wrote a report on the panel discussion that took place in a hybrid form in Brussels. During the panel, speakers discussed the latest developments in the NATO Strategic Concept and European defence autonomy debate. In addition, they focused on how Central and Eastern Europe, in particular countries of the Visegrad group, affect the process.

We invite you to the debate "20 years of the Allied mission in Afghanistan - what are the lessons for NATO and the EU?", which will take place online on Thursday 4 November 2021 at 18:00.

Our research fellow Danielle Piatkiewicz participated in a report by V4 Senior Defense Experts. The paper is written by sixteen senior defence experts and it is a summary of a broader project entitled: “Returning to the roots of the Visegrad cooperation – coordinating V4 strategy towards NATO Strategic Concept and European defense autonomy” that is supported by the International Visegrad Fund.

Last October, the third annual Transatlantic Policy Forum (TAPF) took place virtually. The Forum not only brought together a wide range of experts but provided inputs and interesting takeaways, including recommendations and a Transatlantic To-Do List, which outlined action points on how the US and the EU should approach the given challenges ranging from increased multilateral collaboration to further development of economic and security engagement. A little over 6 months into his administration, our EUROPEUM experts Danielle Piatkiewicz and Miroslava Pisklová have updated their Transatlantic To-Do List and their 100 day’s progress report to reflect on where Biden’s foreign policy stands now over a half a year into the new US administration.

Our Research Fellow Danielle Piatkewicz has written an article for the Atlantic Forum on the NATO and the US-EU future partnership.

Our project manager Miroslava Pisklová wrote an article for the New Europe website on Biden's European tour, which culminated in a meeting between US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Geneva.