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The EU-MERCOSUR Trade Agreement, will it ever reach a Green End?

Author(s): Benedetta Milani / Language(s): English

The current geopolitical scenario due to the war in Ukraine has marked a strong division between West and East, by overturning the equilibrium of the global supply chains, specifically related to basic raw materials, such as grain, and fundamental energy sources. The interruption of imports of energy resources from Russia,and the reduction of trade in foodstuff from Ukraine constitute for most of the EU countries, in particular for Germany and Italy, a harmful threat to their energy and food supply, which force them to reconsider new partnerships for the diversification of their supply chains. According to Eurostat, the EU before the war imported 90% of its total sunflower oil from Ukraine, 39% of its maize demand, and 10% of wood, a bit lower comparing to its 25% wood trade with Russia

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2022 Czech Presidency: a Surprising Success

Author(s): Vít Havelka / Language(s): English

The second ever Czech presidency of the EU Council took place in the second half of 2022, a period in which the EU was under considerable pressure following the Russian invasion in Ukraine. What many predicted would be another regular presidency, became a half a year of crisis management. Over and above these new challenges, the Czech Republic’s 2009 presidency had ended in disarray following the collapse of its centre-right government halfway through the term, effectively evaporating any credibility that had been built. Hence, prior to the 2022 term, Czechs had not proven their ability to handle the responsibilities imposed by the presidency, nor their capacity to set aside internal disputes while leading the EU.

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Quo Vadis? Ensuring fair Taxation in the Digital Economy

Author(s): Silke Maes / Language(s): English

The increasing digitalisation of the economy poses fundamental challenges to tax systems. The growing reliance on intangible assets, which are easy to move but hard to value, exacerbates old problems of tax avoidance and competition while also creating new problems as certain activities completely escape taxation. Recently, the emergence of highly profitable digital business models, combined with the covid crisis – which put a financial strain on governments – has led to a renewed interest in fair taxation. As a result, several measures are currently being discussed at the OECD, EU and national levels to ensure that companies pay taxes in the jurisdictions where they generate profits.

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Will the Future of the EU be driven Top-Down or Bottom Up?

Author(s): Markéta Pekarčíková / Language(s): English

The policy paper looks at possible approaches and proposals the European Union could follow or at least be inspired by. It provides a theoretical view of the future of the European Union as perceived by the previous European Commission under Jean-Claude Juncker. The EU27 was to decide its future by 2025. Discussions on the future shape of the European Union are followed by the current European Commission under Ursula von der Leyen. The previous and current European Commissions have different views on the future of the European Union. Still, changes are necessary, and the European Union will agree on the direction it will eventually take.

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2024 and Beyond: How to Future-proof the Transatlantic Alliance

Author(s): Danielle Piatkiewicz,Huga Blewett-Mundy / Language(s): English

This background paper seeks to understand and to identify additional areas of convergence and conflict among the transatlantic partners. It delves into their joint efforts to navigate a Europe entangled in conflict, with a particular focus on supporting Ukraine's victory, which is intrinsically linked to establishing security assurances for Central and Eastern Europe. In addition, it will examine the diverse perspectives regarding economic resilience amidst China’s growing influence, which encompasses finding common ground in areas, such as the future of Technology and Trade Cooperation and energy resilience enhancement.

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Overcoming barriers to unlock potential for a Just Transition in Czechia

Author(s): Jonathan Lyons / Language(s): English

The impacts of the climate change have become increasingly apparent in the past years, as the extensive greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide and methane, released by burning fossil fuels are warming our atmosphere more than necessary. This warming is taking a catastrophic toll on our planet and our daily lives and is getting worse every year. The European Environmental Agency warns of extreme drought, flooding, heatwaves and forest fires across Europe.2 These events are increasing in frequency and intensity because of climate change and are causing significant damage and loss. In the summer of 2022, over 60 000 people died from heatwaves3, an area more than twice the size of Luxembourg burned in forest fires4, the bed of the river Loire dried up completely forcing nuclear power plants in France to close down and Czechia experienced flash flooding over summer which destroyed people’s property, infrastructure, human health and food costing billions in damages. These are just a few examples showing how Europe and Czechia are ill-prepared for the consequences of climate change.

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European Union Values and Member States: Crises, Solidarity, and the Role of the Rotating Council Presidency

Author(s): Darlo Čepo / Language(s): English

The objective of this paper is to encourage dialogue about the understanding of European values in the societies of Europe and to explore the influence of these values on specific segments of public life. The immediate goal of the paper is to increase the level of understanding and awareness of the impact of membership in the EU on the preservation and promotion of fundamental European values, as well as the contributions of member states (and especially Central and Eastern European member states) to the changing tapestry of the values that the European Union espouses, with the final goal of removing the democratic deficit as a valid criticism against the European project of ever closer union. This will be done by reassessing their presidency programmes in order to see their own interest in impacting the value-building narrative of the European integration process through concrete policy-setting these countries are proposing.

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EU Better Regulation Agenda: Contested Policy in Central European Perspective

Author(s): Zuzana Picková / Language(s): English

The purpose of this paper is to examine the current state of play of the European Commission’s Better Regulation Agenda (BRA) and highlight its key elements. Following the logic of the BRA, it looks at it primarily through the business lens while introducing the civil society viewpoint on the most contested issues. In addition, the perspective on the BRA of the Visegrád Group countries (V4) is explored and several policy recommendations suggested. The analysis is based on interviews with Brussels-based representatives of businesses and civil society organizations, with better regulation experts of the V4 governments and with independent experts, as well as on publicly available primary sources. The paper points to the fact that the most contentious characteristic of BRA is regulatory simplification – craved by businesses as a precondition for competitiveness and condemned by NGOs as a threat to social protections.

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The EU Emissions Trading System: Time for a radical overhaul?

Author(s): Kateřina Davidová,Christian Kvorning Lassen / Language(s): English

This policy paper proposes a set of recommendations, which would help to overcome some of the system’s most serious inefficiencies, namely its inflexibility, the problem of allowance over-allocation and continuously low prices of CO2 emissions, while keeping in mind the need to strike a balance between EU’s ambitious action on climate change while not jeopardizing its economic competitiveness.

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What price do Serbia and Macedonia have to pay to save the EU?

Author(s): Michal Vít / Language(s): English

The Balkan route used by migrants coming to Europe was closed in mid-March 2016 with a stricter regime placed for border protection between Greece and Macedonia, Bulgaria and Serbia, and between Serbia and Hungary. In order to limit the flow of migrants on the external border of the EU– in Serbia especially - and to some extent between specific EU states, Serbia and Macedonia were put into an unenviable situation. Even though the route is officially closed for those who do not have guaranteed the right of asylum, the Arbeiter Samariter Bund (ASB) estimates that the number of migrants crossing the border into Serbia still grows daily by about 100 people. These people were detained by the Serbian police and army or, decided to register themselves in one of the Serbian asylum centres; there are also some who decide not to register with the Serbian authorities and to stay in a “grey zone”.

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Challenges in the Transatlantic Partnership: Are we Drifting Apart?

Author(s): Martin Michelot / Language(s): English

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. It is at this critical juncture that EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy (Prague, Czech Republic) and the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA, Washington D.C.) organized the second Transatlantic Policy Forum, held under the patronage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.

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Fond spravedlivé transformace: šance pro české uhelné regiony?

Author(s): Zuzana Vondrová / Language(s): Czech

Environment and Climate are currently one of the most important topics in Europe – 93% of EU citizens consider climate change to be a serious problem. Last year, the demand for environmental attention was reflected in Brussels, for example, by the appointment of a European Commission President with a “green” agenda and the declaration of a climate emergency by the European Parliament. At the end of the year, the Commission presented a comprehensive strategy, the so-called European Green Deal, which aims to transform Europe into the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. From 2021, environmental spending will represent a larger share of the EU budget than ever before.

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Klimatická změna: může sjednotit rozdělenou společnost?

Author(s): Lucie Vinařská / Language(s): Czech

The impacts of human activity on the environment are gradually taking their toll in the form of an increase in the average temperature on the planet. This is now a scientifically proven fact and the subject of debate is now how to most effectively reduce the negative impacts of climate change on society, nature and the economy. But how does Czech society view this? Climate change is contributing to the ongoing environmental crisis, including drought, soil degradation, species extinction and migration. Although climate change will gradually affect everyone in the future, there are still sceptical views in society regarding the urgency and the necessary response. The key is the willingness and priorities of individual actors. How willing is Czech society to address climate change? It is not only in Czech society that dividing lines are emerging in the climate debate. The question therefore arises: how significantly is Czech society divided in its perception of climate change? Is this a topic that could possibly unite Czech society?

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The post-pandemic future of the Transatlantic Relations – Time to Rebuild or Repair?

Author(s): Danielle Piatkiewicz,Miroslava Pisklová / Language(s): English

This analysis will examine the US and EU’s diverging approaches to global issues, challenges and external challengers, such as Russia and China. As demonstrated by the Trump administration, the US is retreating on many of its multilateral and international commitments – how will the Transatlantic relationship look like if there is a second Trump term as opposed to if Biden takes over? Is the relationship irreparably damaged or can it be repaired? Finally, this paper will examine the future of transatlantic security under the framework of NATO’s 2030 reflection process and appraise how the new security landscape will look like post-COVID, especially as external threats mount and impact the Central and Eastern European front.

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Jak udržitelně financovat klimatickou neutralitu v České Republice?

Author(s): David Němeček / Language(s): Czech

To achieve truly sustainable climate neutrality, systemic changes in the approach of financial sector actors will be needed. The field of sustainable finance deals with this issue. In addition to spending on reducing emissions, the government can develop so-called green budgeting approaches, introduce environmental taxes or manage ministries based on climate targets and metrics. Regardless of the global practice of climate risk management and the recommendations of European regulators, the Czech National Bank is very skeptical about the climate agenda. At the same time, the bank has a whole range of tools with which it can contribute to the sustainability of the economy: disclosure obligations, climate stress tests or support for risk management. Although social and environmental responsibility does not currently play a fundamental role for Czech investors, it is a matter of time before trends such as the disclosure of investment portfolios, impact investing according to ESG factors or so-called green and transition bonds reach the Czech Republic. However, a sustainable future will not depend only on the right choice of tools, it will involve a fundamental reassessment of the economic system in general.

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Rebuilding the Transatlantic Relationship – Transatlantic Policy Forum in Review

Author(s): Danielle Piatkiewicz,Miroslava Pisklová / Language(s): English

The paper follows an early analysis that explored whether to rebuild or repair transatlantic relations post-pandemic and provided additional background and context to the themes discussed at the Forum. This policy paper aims to provide a debrief and analysis of the discussions that were held, respecting the Chatham House Rule and therefore preserving the anonymity of participants. The aim of this analysis is to highlight and develop the main takeaways between participants around the Forum’s core focus points, which included the transatlantic approaches towards economic and trade relations, diverging approaches towards external challengers and threats such as Russia and China, the future of transatlantic security under the framework of NATO’s 2030 reflection process and appraised how the new security landscape will look like post-COVID. The Forum provided a wide range of inputs and interesting takeaways, including recommendations and a transatlantic “to-do list”, which outlines action points on how the US and the EU should approach the given challenges outlined at the Forum ranging from increased multilateral collaboration to further development of economic and security engagement. It is worth noting that the discussions took place ahead of the 2020 US Presidential election results, however, both options, either a prolonged Trump or a new Biden administration, and their meaning for the transatlantic relations, were discussed extensively.

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EU membership of the Western Balkan states in times of crisis: From a strategic choice to protracted inertia

Author(s): Marko Stojić / Language(s): English

The process that began twenty years ago has not yet resulted in sustainable political and economicchanges aimed at stabilising and democratising this turbulent region. Apart from North Macedonia and, to some extent, Albania that have made progress in meeting the conditions for the launch of their EUmembership talks, most (potential) candidates have stagnated or regressed in implementing reformsneeded to join the Union. The Commission noted that ‘credible progress in the rule of law area remainsa significant challenge’ and that ‘democratic systems in the Western Balkans are still not functioningproperly’, while ‘urgent efforts are necessary to ensure freedom of expression and the independence ofthe media across the entire region’.1 Although more detailed and critical in assessing the state of play ineach (potential) candidate, the Commission nevertheless missed an opportunity to call things by theirreal name, to directly point out the areas where candidates not only made no strides but also backslid,and offer more concrete – if not punitive –measures to overcome what is now a chronic lack of progress.The Commission reports also show that there are arguably no fundamental differences betweencountries negotiating EU membership for years and those that are yet to start accession talks, castingdoubt on how much the EU genuinely contributes to the transformation of the aspiring members andtheir preparation for joining the bloc.

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Behavioural Science for the Environment

Author(s): Milan Urbaník / Language(s): English

To effectively address climate change, both structural and behavioural policies are needed. To formulate effective and efficient behavioural policies, the government should establish Behavioural Policy Team. The agency of the team should be to design policies that are conducive to facilitating behavioural changes against unsustainable behaviours, such as high energy and water consumption or polluting transportation. Furthermore, the team should test different approaches through randomization to determine the best value-for-money policies.

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Czech EU presidency: Basis for a Successful Implementation

Author(s): Vít Havelka / Language(s): English

Czech policy makers must not resort to a partisan programme of the Czech presidency. Strong antipathy between government and opposition might create a fragile political environment for the presidency. Czech priorities must be thoroughly discussed with partners in trio, and the Czech Republic should closely coordinate its intentions with Sweden in order to counterbalance French influence. Space of Czech initiatives will be limited due to the current phase of the EP legislative period, and the Czechs should thus focus only on particular issues that they consider vital – single market policies, environmental policies, and innovation. The EU presidency must be used for EU membership promotion in the Czech Republic. Importantly, there should take place high-level meetings in the Czech Republic and outside of Prague.

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Czech Public Opinion: European Energy Crisis

Author(s): Vít Havelka / Language(s): English

The energy crisis is a serious problem with extensive implication in social cohesion as well as economic performance of the EU. Afterall, stability of every political system is based on its performance and ability to provide citizens with wealth and stability. Skyrocketing inflation and energy prices cause the exact opposite, and might eventually lead to political instability and rise of populism and radicalism. For this reason, it is important to study the development of public opinion in real time, and use the research’s results in every day political work. As part of this discussion, the EUROPEUM institute in cooperation with STEM Institute conducted an extensive quantitative and qualitative public questioning at the beginning of October 2022 focusing on Czech attitudes towards the EU and the energy crisis as such. The following article will inform the reader about our results and outline potential problems for the EU’s reputation in the future.

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