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1. Czech perception of EU’s Reaction to COVID-19

Author:
Vít Havelka
Publication Date:
08-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Europeum Institute for European Policy
Abstract:
This text deals with the topic of the European Union's response to COVID-19 and how it is perceived by Czech society. As of 13th August 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has claimed more than 179 000 European lives out of 1,8 million who contracted with the virus1 . Most of the European states issued lockdowns, significantly curtailing economic activity. This resulted in the deepest recorded recession in the EU, reaching negative 11,9% GDP growth in the second quarter of 2020. . ▪ As a reaction to the ongoing economic crisis, the European Council decided to create a joint €750 billion recovery fund called Next Generation EU that should be financed by loans and repaid after 2027, a significant step that might mitigate the poor perception of the EU actions during the initial weeks of the health crisis. Significant EU criticism appeared in Italy; leading international outlets started discussing whether Europe had lost Italy.
Topic:
Governance, Public Opinion, European Union, COVID-19, and Health Crisis
Political Geography:
Europe and Czech Republic

2. COMMENTARIES: State of the European Union address 2020

Author:
Katerina Davidova, Vít Havelka, Jana Juzová, Christian Kvorning Lassen, Danielle Piatkiewicz, and Zuzana Stuchlíková
Publication Date:
09-2020
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Europeum Institute for European Policy
Abstract:
Experts from EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy comment on the State of the Union address (SOTEU) given by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on 16 September 2020. Topics of the commentaries: Christian Kvorning Lassen: General Impressions – A Visionary Speech Challenged by Political Reality; Christian Kvorning Lassen: A Stronger European Health Union is Needed; Christian Kvorning Lassen: Migration – Ambitious rhetoric, dubious feasibility; Danielle Piatkiewicz: Multilateralism: Europe’s Call to Global Action – Taking the Lead; Kateřina Davidová: EU’s climate momentum not quashed by the pandemic as new target is presented; Jana Juzová: European Neighbourhoods – Vague Reassurances, Economy First; Zuzana Stuchlíková: Next Generation EU, Rule of Law and Conference on the Future of Europe; Vít Havelka: The EU and the UK fights over blame for Brexit fiasco
Topic:
Climate Change, Health, Migration, European Union, Multilateralism, and Rule of Law
Political Geography:
Europe

3. Brief on COVID-19: COVID-19 EU Response: The Subsidiarity Principle has been Working, but now it is Time for Adjustments

Author:
Vít Havelka
Publication Date:
05-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Europeum Institute for European Policy
Abstract:
Ih his latest brief, our Vít Havelka discusses the topic of limits of the COVID-19 EU response and the subsidiarity principle. The subsidiarity principle is an often-debated topic among Czech Eurosceptic politicians. They usually argue that the European Union does not need more responsibility as the EU Member States can sufficiently substitute a joint EU approach, or that the new competences might threaten the national sovereignty. Paradoxically, Eurosceptics often accuse the EU of incompetence once a problem emerges that the EU has next to no power to tackle.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Sovereignty, European Union, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Europe

4. European Elections: A Year In Review

Author:
Katerina Davidova, Vít Havelka, Jana Juzová, Christian Kvorning Lassen, and Danielle Piatkiewicz
Publication Date:
05-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Europeum Institute for European Policy
Abstract:
On the occasion of the anniversary of the ninth European Parliament elections, which took place from 23 to 26 May 2019, experts of EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy prepared five analyses reflecting on the past year in the key areas: climate, multiannual financial framework, migration, geopolitics and European Union enlargement. The experts of EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy weigh in with analyses in their respective fields – climate, multi-annual financial framework, migration, geopolitics and EU enlargement – of the first year since the European elections. It is our hope that this review of the first year of unprecedented upheaval will be an opportunity to reflect both on the past year, but also the challenges of tomorrow.
Topic:
Climate Change, Migration, European Union, Geopolitics, and Finance
Political Geography:
Europe

5. EU Council Commentary: No progress in MFF and recovery fund

Author:
Vít Havelka
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Europeum Institute for European Policy
Abstract:
On Friday, EU leaders met online to discuss the newest proposal by the European Commission on the future MFF and Next Generation EU recovery fund. As expected, the meeting was devoted to a mere assessment of Member States’ starting negotiation positions, meaning no significant progress has been made. The leaders only agreed to finalize the negotiations as soon as possible, targeting at mid-July during the German presidency. The introduction of Next Generation EU fund rewrote the dividing lines in the EU manifesting during the previous MFF negotiations. Some groupings, such as Frugal Four remain more or less intact, whereas the group of “Friends of Cohesion” disintegrated into several blocks, which makes the negotiations less lucid. Southern Europe supports the new Commission proposals; Czech Republic, Hungary and several Baltic State express reservations. Nevertheless, the good news is that no country vetoed the Commissions proposal and there is a good chance to reach an agreement. Whether this will happen before the summer break remains to be seen. The member states positions are now far away from each other, and the leaders will have to manifest good negotiation skills in order to conclude the negotiations within one month.
Topic:
Governance, European Union, Economy, Recovery, and Coronavirus
Political Geography:
Europe

6. EU MONITOR: Czech Perception of the EU Defence Policy

Author:
Vít Havelka
Publication Date:
04-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Europeum Institute for European Policy
Abstract:
On May 28th 2017, the German Chancellor surprised the world with a statement calling on Europe to ‘take its fate into own hand’, adding “the era in which we could fully rely on others is over to some extent”. Pundits perceived her speech as a landmark change in a long-term European defence paradigm. Since the end of the WWII, the European security depended on the United States, and after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the American defence shield was further broadened to former soviet satellites in Central Europe. However, the last years were marked by a growing rift between the EU and the US. The departure of the UK from the European Union underlined the crisis of European defence structures as the EU would lose a member state with the strongest European army, a seat in Security Council, and large part of its nuclear arsenal. As a result, the European leaders gathered shortly after the Brexit vote in Bratislava and decided they would launch PESCO, a voluntary defence cooperation on project basis. The aim was not only to renew the integrational process after the Brexit blow, but also to strengthen European defence research and provide the EU with missing hard power.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Migration, Public Opinion, and European Union
Political Geography:
Europe and Czech Republic

7. EU MONITOR: Czechs and the Post-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework

Author:
Vít Havelka
Publication Date:
04-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Europeum Institute for European Policy
Abstract:
In his latest EU monitor, Vít Havelka examines the attitude of the general Czech public towards the new EU Multiannual Financial Framework. At the beginning of May 2018, the European Commission introduced its proposal of the new Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-27. Since then, the EU member states as well as the European Parliament have been intensively negotiating about each aspect of the Commission´s draft without being able to reach an agreement. Consequently, the talks will slip into 2020, probably being finalized no earlier than summer 2020 during the German presidency of the European Council. The following article is therefore meant to provide the reader with an understanding of what ordinary Czechs think of the MFF negotiations and what should the EU budget finance. The text is predominantly based on standard public opinion poll conducted by STEM Agency in cooperation with EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy in October 2019. The sample consisted of 1002 respondents, combining PAPI and CAPI questioning. The quantitative research was supplemented with qualitative questioning in form of focus groups conducted at the beginning of November 2019.
Topic:
Public Opinion, European Union, and Finance
Political Geography:
Europe and Czech Republic

8. Brief on COVID-19: Eurozone in Agreement over the first COVID19-Response

Author:
Vít Havelka
Publication Date:
04-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Europeum Institute for European Policy
Abstract:
In his brief, Vít Havelka writes about the Eurozone ministers first agreement on the response against the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. After several Eurogroup meetings, the finance ministers of the EU19 finally managed to agree on their first COVID-19-crisis response. They sign up to a package worth of 540 billion €, consisting of 200 billion € loans from the European Investment Bank, 240 billion € from the European Stability Mechanism, and 100 billion € kurzarbeit package proposed by the European Commission. The coronabonds fiercely wanted by Italy, Spain and Portugal have not been approved, leaving the discussion to EU leaders who are due to convene on the 24th April.
Topic:
European Union, Finance, Coronavirus, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Europe

9. Czechs and the EU Brand: How do Czechs feel about the EU and what could change their mind?

Author:
Vít Havelka
Publication Date:
01-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Europeum Institute for European Policy
Abstract:
This study is mainly based on a series of 12 brief surveys by Behavio research agency and on longitudinal research by STEM Institute for Empirical Research. The expert’s inputs were provided by EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy. The Czech Republic could serve as a kind of laboratory for investigating anti-EU sentiments. Czechs’ perception of the EU membership is the poorest of all the EU citizens, (mere 33 % view it as a good thing). Not even half of the adult Czech population (47 %) would vote to stay in the EU, despite having a booming economy and bearing almost no impact of the migration crisis. Moreover, the Czech economy is strongly export-oriented and benefits from the EU budget. Thus these negative sentiments seem to be very much about emotions and image. Czechs’ feelings toward the EU are similar to other Visegrad (V4) countries in many ways, but these similarities are less prominent than one would expect – especially in the case of Slovakia, where attitudes towards NATO and the EU are reversed. In many aspects, Czech Eurosceptics have been more influenced by British and Italian politicians than by their counterparts in Slovakia, Hungary or Poland. The popularity of the EU in the Czech Republic has been very volatile over the past 15 years. It was even modest at the beginning and the first disillusion came soon after the country’s accession, but was quickly countered by the Czech presidency of EU in 2009. EU’s image dropped again during the global economic downturn and the Eurozone crisis, which played a relatively strong role in the 2010 national election campaign. The migration crisis worsened negative sentiments even further, despite having little direct effect on the country. The recently observed increase in popularity can be mostly attributed to the country’s economic growth.
Topic:
Public Opinion, European Union, and Survey
Political Geography:
Europe and Czech Republic

10. EU MONITOR: Has the time come for a Czech Regional Policy?

Author:
Vít Havelka
Publication Date:
01-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Europeum Institute for European Policy
Abstract:
Over the past 5 years, the Czech Republic has experienced unprecedented GDP growth, moving the country from 83% of EU average GDP in 2013 to 91% of the EU average GDP in 2019. At the same time, the Czech wage increased by more than 7% in 2013 in the last three years. This phenomenon is addressed by our Vít Havelka in the latest issue of the EU Monitor. The following decade will likely be determining for the future success of the Czech Republic. The global economy and its supply chains are undergoing a significant shift; Asian states are slowly becoming innovative leaders rather than being a cheap labour pool. Furthermore, the Czech Republic is heavily dependent on the automotive industry3, which is under pressure not only by stricter emission regulation, but also disruptive market change such as autonomous systems, digitalization and electrification. It is likely that old market strategies will prove obsolete as it happened in case of cell phones. Along with the changing global economy, the Czech Republic is nearing to a point where it will not be fully able to rely on the EU Cohesion Policy anymore. The country has reached the threshold of 90% EU ́s average GDP, and if the current economic development remains the same, the Czech Republic will not have access to Cohesion Funds after the coming MFF, and it will receive significantly less money from the EU budget. The problem is that regional disparities within the Czech Republic remain high, especially between the capital city Prague and the rest of the country. Simultaneously, since the EU accession in 2004, the Czech Republic relied mainly on the EU Cohesion Policy in terms of providing funding for regions, supplementing the EU ́s activity only with minor national contributions. As a result, the country does not have a well-developed culture of regional policy that would be nationally funded, and there is not even a discussion in the media about national solidarity with disadvantaged regions. The following paper aims at discussing a possible way forward for the Czech Republic, especially in the context of expected changes in global economy and simultaneous decrease of EU Funding that could help mitigate the impact of economic disruptions. The focus will be laid on possible If the whole automotive left the Czech Republic, Deloitte estimates that the Czech GDP would decrease by 25% and 1,4 million Czechs would lose their reaction to lower income from the EU, as it is presumed that a solid regional policy is crucial in maintaining internal cohesion and contributes to mitigation of economic turbulences.
Topic:
European Union, GDP, Global Political Economy, and Economic growth
Political Geography:
Europe and Czech Republic