Articles and Publications

In this Policy Brief, Marcin Przychodniak analyzes the European Union’s current approach to China in the context of shifting transatlantic relations and growing tensions between the US, the EU, and China. The paper highlights key challenges – from increasing dependency on Chinese raw materials and investment concerns to the need for stronger EU defensive tools against economic coercion. It offers recommendations on how to more effectively protect European interests and security amid rising geopolitical tensions.

The European automotive industry is undergoing a major transformation. As EU legislation on vehicle circularity is being updated, non-profit organisations, think tanks, and representatives of the recycling sector are calling on the European Parliament and the Council to set more ambitious targets for the use of recycled steel in car manufacturing. The signatories of the joint statement are urging stronger measures to ensure that recycled steel becomes a standard component in automotive production.

On April 29th, the Brussels Office of EUROPEUM, representing the Think Visegrad Platform, hosted an expert roundtable discussion entitled ‘Germany in multi-dimensional change: implications for Central Europe.’ The event took place at The Library Ambiorix, Square Ambiorix 10, under the Chatham House Rule with a participation of 14 experts. The aim of the discussion was to explore Germany’s ongoing transformation amid overlapping economic, geopolitical, and structural challenges, and their implications for broader European politics.

In a rapidly changing geopolitical environment, the European Union faces new challenges in its tech policy, especially under a second Trump administration. The EU’s Tech Dilemma Under Trump: How to Set Higher Ambitions That Europe Can Actually Achieve outlines ten targeted recommendations to help the EU build a realistic and effective tech strategy. The policy brief stresses the urgency of reducing Europe's technological dependencies, prioritizing critical areas, fostering tech adoption to boost productivity, and ensuring open, competitive digital markets. Drawing on insights from leading European think tanks, the paper calls for an ambitious yet achievable mission-based approach to safeguard European democracy, sovereignty, and competitiveness.

Our latest policy brief is aimed at policy makers, government representatives and experts who influence the development of climate policy in the Czech Republic. The text, written by Rebeka Hengalová, Research Fellow, and Jana Abíková, Head of the Green Europe Programme, maps the transport needs of the most vulnerable groups in the Czech Republic and provides arguments for the timely and full adoption of ETS2 and the appropriate allocation of the SCF to minimise transport poverty. The brief assesses possible solutions and discussed measures that could be funded by the national Social Climate Plan to reduce the impact of ETS2 on low-income households.

While transport poverty does not affect the majority of the population, available data shows that it impacts a significant and growing portion of Czech society, making it a serious issue that cannot be overlooked or expected to resolve itself over time. This policy paper by research fellow Rebeka Hengalová and head of Green Europe programme Jana Abíková details the experiences of transport-poor citizens, outlines good practice of measures from abroad and explains the potential utilisation of the Social Climate Fund in alleviating transport poverty.

This background paper, written by EUROPEUM Institute researcher Silke Maes as part of the Platform Revolution project, provides an overview of the evolving landscape of platform work in Czechia. It explores the rapid growth of digital labor platforms since the arrival of Uber in 2014, mapping the types, prevalence, and demographic characteristics of platform workers across the country. Drawing on recent survey data, the paper highlights both the opportunities and challenges posed by platform work—including flexibility, supplementary income, and the risks of precarious employment and regulatory gaps. The paper also examines the current legal and policy framework in Czechia, the discussions around the EU Platform Work Directive, and ongoing debates around worker classification, tax compliance, and social protection.

These background papers, produced by EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy as part of the Platform Revolution project, provide an in-depth analysis of the evolving landscape of platform work in North Macedonia, Poland, Serbia, Montenegro, Hungary, Albania and Slovakia. They explore the rapid growth of digital labor platforms, mapping the types, prevalence, and demographic characteristics of platform workers across the countries.

The Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) is the EU's key instrument for determining the expenditure and revenue components of the common European budget. The negotiations on the long-term budget are among the most important and lengthy at European level. It decides on overall spending in traditional areas such as agriculture and cohesion, but also on new priorities such as defence and competitiveness. The European Commission is expected to present its proposal for the 2028-2034 financial framework by mid-2025, but informal discussions on the shape of the proposal are already taking place at both working and political level - the new European Commissioner for Budgets is now touring Member States and the Commission has launched a public consultation on the subject. The Commission has already presented the broad outlines of the next MFF, including a greater focus on efficiency, added value and simplification. It has also stressed the need for more flexibility to make the budget more responsive to crises. The number of (old) new priorities, including defence, climate and competitiveness, also raises the question of the size of the next European budget and new own resources. The current debate on the Czech priorities for the next MFF is therefore more than appropriate and the Czech Republic should actively enter into negotiations at the European level. The background paper for the round table of the National Convention on the EU was prepared by Josef Bič (FSV VŠE) and Filip Křenek (EUROPEUM).

The National Convention on the European Union has published a new policy paper with recommendations on the topic Czechia and the Priorities of the New Multiannual Financial Framework 2028–2034. The document is based on the roundtable discussion held on 28 March 2025 and responds to current debates on the shape of the next EU budget in the context of increasing expenditure pressures — for example, in the areas of defence, the reconstruction of Ukraine, or competitiveness. The recommendations focus on the need to clearly define Czech priorities, take new challenges into account, and strengthen the involvement of Czech stakeholders in European programmes. They also reflect the need to streamline budgetary instruments and emphasise the importance of broader public and expert debate on the benefits of the EU budget for the Czech Republic. The expert guarantors of the roundtable were the Institute for European Policy EUROPEUM and the University of Economics in Prague.

The National Convent on the European Union issued recommendations based on the roundtable held on 28 March 2025 on the topic "The Czech Republic and the Priorities of the New Multiannual Financial Framework 2028–2034." The discussion focused on the priorities of the next EU multiannual budget, with emphasis on efficiency, added value, simplification, and the need to strengthen European defense spending. The expert guarantors of the roundtable were the Institute for European Policy EUROPEUM and the University of Economics in Prague.

In 2019, the green agenda became the flagship of the European Commission’s politics in the face of the European Green Deal. Five years later, the re-elected Ursula von der Leyen would like to keep this agenda as the number one priority for the next political cycle, expressing this goal also in her political guidelines. Meanwhile, major geopolitical events during the last couple of years have led to an unprecedented interest in the security of energy and raw material supplies. These topics started to gain significant attention during the Covid-19 pandemic, then surged further in the following energy crises, and finally peaked after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war. Even though the question of energy and supply security has global implications and is being discussed globally, Europe was particularly affected by these aforementioned events, writes Gábor Papp, a Research Fellow at the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs, in his policy brief.