Ukraine

We invite you to a public recording of the Café Evropa podcast: two years since the invasion: what's next for Ukraine? The recording will take place on Wednesday, 21 February 2024 at 17:30 at Langhans - Kavárna a Centrum Člověka v tísni, Vodičkova 37, Prague.

Czech governments have always been strong supporters of EU enlargement, and the same is true of the current one. The cabinet of Petr Fiala of the ODS might even like to be seen as the one that has done the most of Czech governments for the accession of new members to the shared club so far.

Can Ukraine take lessons from the Czech approach to the recovery plan? Alina Boiko focuses on the Czech implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan, which could help the Ukrainian authorities improve their ability to implement new policies.

An extraordinary summit of the European Council is held on 1 February. During the summit, the main topic was the financial support package for Ukraine as part of the multiannual European budget. Although the package was blocked by Hungary back in December, it has now been approved. Žiga Faktor, Director of our Brussels office and deputy director, commented on the event and its circumstances for Euractiv.

Was Hungary's refusal to provide financial aid to Ukraine the main concern of the Summit? Watch an interview with Ziva Faktore, head of our Brussels office and deputy director, who comments on this topic for Slovak RTVS.

Listen to the interview with Žiga Faktor, deputy director and head of our Brussels office, about what convinced Viktor Orbán not to veto financial aid to Ukraine?

The presidents and heads of government of the European Union countries will try to secure additional financial and military aid to Ukraine in the amount of 50 billion euros (about 1.2 trillion crowns) at their extraordinary meeting starting on Thursday in Brussels. This has been blocked by Hungary since last December. Vít Havelka, a senior research fellow, answers why this summit could be a turning point.

What is the current situation regarding EU funding for Ukraine and what cards does Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is against it, hold in his hands? Viktor Daněk, Deputy Director of EUROPEUM Institute, explains the situation and the key moments

MEPs say Hungary should not receive any EU funding until it proves that it has reliably corrected its shortcomings in the rule of law and human rights. Viktor Danek, deputy director of the Czech Radio, comments on the current developments concerning Hungary, the EU and the blocking of financial aid to Ukraine.

Listen to an interview with Vít Havelka, Senior Research Fellow at EUROPEUM Institute, in which he comments on the European Parliament's harshest resolution yet against Hungary, specifically its legal status and Budapest's approach to negotiations on joint funding and support for Ukraine.

Last week, the European Union decided to open accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova, while Georgia became a candidate for membership. The countries are embarking on a multi-year journey towards integration, on which many obstacles lie - if only because parts of them are occupied by the Russian Federation. Our senior researcher Jana Juzová commented for Deník N on what awaits these countries, and the whole of the EU-27, in connection with this decision in the coming years.

The EU opens accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova, contrary to Hungary's wishes. Even so, Hungary did not come out of the negotiations deprived - the European Commission released to Hungary 250 billion crowns from the funds blocked so far. How much longer can Orban hold Ukraine hostage in his decision-making? Our deputy director Viktor Daněk commented on the topic for Právo.