The EU summit in Brussels has brought the attention of the public to the issue of how the European idea should be approached. Is Europe a mere community of countries sharing similar economic interests, or is it more than that? A clear response is still awaited to this question, even if the circumstances arisen due to the COVID-19 pandemic have revealed with unusual clarity the stance taken by the EU member countries concerning the rule of law.

Hungary and Poland indicated in November that they would veto the European Union’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2021-2027 and the Next Generation EU (NGEU) economic recovery fund. However, recent developments indicate that Hungary’s and Poland’s views on the matter have diverged. Hungary continues to risk delaying the arrival of new EU subsidies that would allow the Government to make new spending commitments in the last full year before the 2022 general election. Yet, considering the current politico-economic situation in the EU, Hungary does stand a chance of achieving some of its immediate goals. So, the key question is: What does Budapest stand to gain by using its veto?

When Germany took over the presidency of the Council of the European Union from Croatia, the rest of the EU Member States welcomed it with a kind of relief. After the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, Europe found itself on the brink of a deep economic crisis. The EU capacities were occupied with other burning issues: post-COVID economic recovery, negotiations of the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), the climate crisis, the ongoing Brexit negotiations, and the need for a new pact on migration. Germany’s takeover was seen as good luck during a European misfortune, as the country well known for its negotiation skills and experienced diplomats is also the EU’s economic powerhouse.

Interview with Benedek Jávor about the blackmailing attempt of Viktor Orbán and Mateusz Morawiecki, the importance of the rule of law in the EU and the responsibility of the German government.

The victory of the Democratic candidate, Joe Biden, in the American presidential elections is the most important development in global climate policies since the Paris climate agreement was drafted in late 2015. Who steers the US climate agenda and how matters a great deal to the rest of the world, and not just because the US is currently the planet’s second-largest polluter in terms of carbon dioxide emissions.

During October there were elections to the regional assemblies and one-third of the Senate in the Czech Republic.The outcome can be summarized as follows: The Association of Dissatisfied Citizens (ANO) movement of Andrej Babiš had the best showing in the regional contests, but their potential coalition partners lost ground, and as a consequence, ANO will be part of coalition governments in just some regions. Opposition parties gained strength and the left absolutely failed. In the Senate elections, the clear victor was the Mayors and Independents (STAN) movement, and we can call the Social Democrats the most defeated, as they did not defend a single seat.  Both elections were marked by concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, and many people perceive the outcome to be a kind of overture to the elections to the Chamber of Deputies that await the Czech Republic next year.

In Slovakia in February 2018 the journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová were murdered. Their killing has brought about a fundamental shift of political power in the country, leading to the prosecution of high-profile defendants, including the man accused of ordering the murder. Three years later we can state that even though the man who ordered the hit has not been punished, there is a chance that this crime will eventually result in an improvement in the administration of justice in the country.

The visit of Czech Senate President Miloš Vystrčil to Taiwan sparked a diplomatic row between the Czech Republic and the People’s Republic of China. Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi declared Vystrčil would pay “a heavy price” and the Global Times called Vystrčil “a political hooligan”. This, in turn, provoked critical reactions from not only Czech politicians, but also representatives of numerous European countries and indeed across the world.