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1062. 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
1063. EU MONITOR: French lessons in Africa: An assessment of three key military capabilities for European defence
- Author:
- Adrian Blazquez
- Publication Date:
- 04-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Europeum Institute for European Policy
- Abstract:
- In his latest EU monitor, Adrian Blazquez examines the the European cooperation in the Sahel strip. The Sahel region is often known as the European southern border. This area is a hotbed of violence and instability where weak states are overwhelmed by a myriad of ethnic conflicts and the proliferation of extremist groups. Local governments are largely unable to control their borders.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, Military Affairs, European Union, and Conflict
- Political Geography:
- Europe, North Africa, and Sahel
1064. Brief on COVID-19: European integration continues on several fronts as the COVID-19 crisis escalates. Without the Czech Republic
- Author:
- Jiří Lacina
- Publication Date:
- 04-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Europeum Institute for European Policy
- Abstract:
- In his brief, Jiří Lacina explores the impact of COVID-19 on the future development of European integration and the role of Czechia in this development. The EU, its institutions and the Member States are working together to withstand the current pandemic and prepare for the economic crisis to follow. Simultaneously, ideas on the future arrangement of the EU are appearing. Two emerged on 9 April: one of monetary and the other of environmental nature – and both dealing with region’s economic recovery. For now, the Czech Republic is not engaging in any of them, and once again risks being left behind.
- Topic:
- European Union, Economy, Crisis Management, Coronavirus, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Czech Republic
1065. Brief on COVID-19: WHO under threat? Maintaining multilateralism and global cooperation in times of COVID-19
- Author:
- Danielle Piatkiewicz
- Publication Date:
- 04-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Europeum Institute for European Policy
- Abstract:
- In her brief, Danielle Piatkiewicz writes about the need of multilateral and international cooperation when the COVID-19 crisis ends. If the COVID-19 crisis will teach us anything, is that today’s society has never been more interconnected. The need for multilateral and international cooperation has proven to be vital for the communication and exchange of information, support and resources.
- Topic:
- International Cooperation, World Health Organization, European Union, Multilateralism, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- Europe, United States of America, and Global Markets
1066. EASTERN MONITOR: Western Balkans in the fight against the COVID-19: Another cause for democratic backsliding?
- Author:
- Jana Juzová
- Publication Date:
- 04-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Europeum Institute for European Policy
- Abstract:
- In her latest Eastern Monitor, Jana Juzová examines the fight of western Balkans countries against the COVID-19. The COVID-19 global pandemic represents an unprecedented challenge for humanity. Across the globe, countries are facing a historical dilemma of stricter security measures aimed to ensure safety of the populations at the cost of fundamental human rights and freedoms. The affected countries across the globe has adopted a wide scale of measures, and as there is no central mechanism for coordination in the health policies even inside the EU, each country approaches the crisis in a different way. Consequently, the policies range from opting for relatively loose ones relying on building up of natural immunity in the population, i.e. in Sweden, to extreme restrictive measures adopted in Hungary, diminishing human rights as well as democracy in the country. The Western Balkan countries’ approach, although differing significantly in each country, belongs among the most restrictive ones. The countries with the highest number of infected persons (relative to the population size) are Serbia, North Macedonia and Montenegro.1 In Montenegro, the situation has worsened in the past few weeks, as the country reported only a very small number at the beginning of the pandemic, and the government started introducing stricter measures, similarly to its neighbours.
- Topic:
- International Cooperation, COVID-19, and Health Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Balkans and European Union
1067. EU MONITOR: The EU invests very little in culture but the results are visible
- Author:
- Karel Barták
- Publication Date:
- 01-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Europeum Institute for European Policy
- Abstract:
- The European Commission proposed in May 2018 to continue implementing the Creative Europe programme even more in the next budgetary period 2021-2027. This problematics is the main topic of Karel Barták's latest EU Monitor. The European Commission proposed in May 2018 to continue implementing the Creative Europe programme in the next budgetary period 2021-2027 with an envelope of 1,85 billion euros. Should the Member States agree, it would mean an increase of 26,5 percent compared to the current budget (2014-2020). Most of the money should go as usual to the audiovisual part of the programme (MEDIA), with emphasis on distribution of European films outside their country of origin. In the „culture“ part of the programme the draft mentions as priorities music, publishing, cultural heritage and architecture.
- Topic:
- Culture, Budget, European Union, and Investment
- Political Geography:
- Europe
1068. Challenges in the Transatlantic Partnership: Are We Drifting Apart?
- Author:
- Martin Michelot
- Publication Date:
- 01-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Europeum Institute for European Policy
- Abstract:
- During November 2019, EUROPEUM co-organized the second Transatlantic Policy Forum along with CEPA, a leading US think-tank. The private roundtable provided a unique opportunity for candid and open discussion about the issues that are at the heart of transatlantic cooperation. Our research fellow Martin Michelot concluded a debrief and analysis of these debates. 2019 will certainly go down as a year when the political unity of the Alliance was tested - and when NATO held together strong. The year ended with a NATO Leaders Summit that centered around the comments made by French President Emmanuel Macron a month prior, where he declared NATO to be in a state of “brain death” and cast a shadow on whether the collective security guarantee would still hold strong in the near future. That was not the only moment of transatlantic tension: tensions flared over European 5G markets, which may be built by Chinese companies, and trade has become an inflamed issue between Europe, the U.S. and China. The debrief includes analysis of NATO, U.S.-EU Trading Relations and a to-do list for transatlantic cooperation.
- Topic:
- International Relations, NATO, Trade, and Transatlantic Relations
- Political Geography:
- China, Asia, United States of America, and North America
1069. 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
1070. 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