European Union

The EU and US are enticing developing countries into a partnership that looks to align measures on the supply of critical raw materials, a Commission official said on Wednesday (3 April). 

©European Union

Every Monday, a member of the international academic association ‘UACES’ will address a current topic linked to their research on euradio.

 

Listen to the podcast on eu!radio.

 

 

Petr Kaniok, you are professor of political science at the Masaryk University of Brno, beautiful city in the South-East of the Czech Republic. And you recall the moment when your country became a member of the European Union, twenty years ago, on the 1st of May 2004.

May 2004 – that is a long time ago! Twenty years is a small step for mankind, but it is a remarkable period for one person. Anyway, I still remember what I did and what the atmosphere was in the society. Why? Because this time was very special, vibrant and unique.

 

What were you doing at that time?

I was about to complete my first year of doctoral studies in the political science programme at Masaryk University. The exact location is important – the faculty was new, established in the late 1990s – there were no real “social sciences” in Czechia before the 1989 Velvet Revolution. Everything had to be built up from scratch – political science and subsequently European studies. So, I remember that even that being admitted to the political science branch, already during the first year I moved – surprise, surprise! – to the newly founded Department of International Relations and European Studies. And started my first research and PhD project there.

 

Had you always been interested in the European Union?

Yes, my move was not an accident. Even though I graduated from political science, I was interested in the EU politics already there. My master thesis had been about the EU Council presidency – a detail no one cared about at that time – apart from me!

To be honest – there was no great knowledge on the EU prior to accession. Both the people and the politicians perceived membership as a goal, a potential gate to heaven. Once I read the biblical metaphor of the “EU as the land of milk and honey” – and this is, I think, a very accurate description of the atmosphere in Czech society at the time. The EU was first and foremost perceived as a way to modernize the country. Particularly in economic terms – the EU was seen as a river of quick and easy money that would change everything and would make people richer. There was a dream of having the same salaries as people in Germany, the same living standards. But no one talked about or even mentioned the duties, possible problems or challenges that such a membership inevitably is associated with. Because no one knew, or no one believed this was important.

 

So how was the awakening?

The years after the accession was a kind of adapting to normality. Seeking for membership in a club is a different thing than being a member. This transformation happened both to Czech society and me personally.

People, as well as the politicians, had to absorb the first shocks. In particular, responsibility and activity – for example, the famous 2009 Czech EU Council Presidency, which the Czech government framed as “giving lectures and lessons to the EU”, but ended with the domestic collapse of the government and the change of prime minister in the middle of the presidency.

Or the famous EU funds which, as they were used in Czechia, quite quickly transformed into “toxic money” associated with corruption, scandals, and frauds. Both the people and the politicians started to realize – very slowly, sometimes without success – that the EU will not etake care of us”. We have to take care of the EU, as we are, more or less, the EU.

For me personally, the process was less dramatic but sometimes painful as well. Being a student and subsequently a young researcher operating mostly in a domestic context is something different than facing the EU context, EU-wide cooperation and EU-wide competition.

 

What conclusion do you draw at the end of these twenty years?

In a nutshell: “no pain, no gain!” I think that despite the bumpy road during the 20 years of the Czech EU membership, we are on today on a good track and the country – and I personally – benefit from the membership. It is not just about the new highways or hospitals built across the country. What I see is more cooperation, more communication, more openness and more willingness to take our own responsibilities.

 

Thank you very much, Petr Kaniok, for sharing both your personal testimony and your analysis as professor of political science at Masaryk University, in the beautiful city of Brno.

The post 20 years of Czechia in the EU appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

Pro-transparency groups are demanding scrutiny into conflict of interests allegations of Markus Ferber, a centre-right MEP from Germany.

Eurozone inflation dropped from 2.6% in February to 2.4% in March: just 0.4 percentage points above the European Central Bank's target rate.

The French far-left La France Insoumise (LFI) would be in favour of France providing help to a NATO country attacked by Russia, its lead candidate, Manon Aubry, told national public radio on Wednesday (3 April), hinting at a softening of the party's long-lasting anti-NATO stance.

With 15 votes in favour, nine against and no abstentions, MEPs agreed to introduce concrete sanctions for any elected office-holder who fails to complete mandatory anti-harassment training within the first six months of their mandate.

Bulgaria has introduced the special gas tax on the transmission of Russian gas through Turkish Stream to punish Austria for its Schengen opposition, the leader of Bulgaria's largest party GERB Boyko Borissov announced on Wednesday (3 April).

The European Union has launched a probe into whether subsidies allowed Chinese firms to submit unfair bids for the construction of a Romanian solar panel park, in the second application of a new trade protection law in one week. 

As we approach the beginning of a new EU institutional cycle, marked by the election of a new European Parliament and the start of a new Commission mandate and European Council Strategic agenda for 2024-2029, the future of healthcare in Europe is at a crossroads.

It is critical that the European Union Cybersecurity Certification Scheme for Cloud Services (EUCS) remains technology-neutral, risk-based, and focused on concrete cybersecurity outcomes, writes Pascal Kerneis.

The draft law on agricultural sovereignty and the renewal of generations in agriculture, presented to the government on Wednesday (3 April), makes sovereignty a "structuring" element of public policy, on a par with the environment.

The Committee on Constitutional Affairs endorsed changes to internal rules to tackle workplace conflicts and promote good office management.
Committee on Constitutional Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

The Committee on Constitutional Affairs endorsed changes to internal rules to tackle workplace conflicts and promote good office management.
Committee on Constitutional Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

European Union member states have spent billions of euros supporting agricultural and food industries over the past two years, following a temporary relaxation of the bloc's state aid rules to help businesses cope with the impact of Russia's war in Ukraine.

After a case of transmission from cattle to a dairy worker in the US, the risk of infection for humans remains low but vigilance must stay high, the European Commission and EU agencies on health and food safety told Euractiv.

Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

The example of Germany, which has recently legalised cannabis, remains rather rare in Europe: Only Malta and Luxembourg have also legalised cannabis, while other countries such as Portugal and the Netherlands have preferred to decriminalise it.

As EU transport ministers gather for an informal meeting in Brussels on Wednesday (3 April), the sector remains the "problem child" of the bloc's climate efforts and could account for 44% of all greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, according to latest projections.

Hello and a big welcome to our new subscribers from EuropaBio, Astrazeneca, ITAB, and more. Euractiv’s Green Brief brings you a roundup of energy and environment news from across Europe. You can subscribe here. Even as the Green Deal stutters...

In today's edition of the Capitals, find out more about US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken calling on the EU to up its defence industrial base for the long term, Poles being less enthusiastic about the EU compared to 2020, and so much more.