New at AMO: commentaries, analyses, invitation

The Perspective of the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia on the Three Seas Initiative

In July 2021, the next Three Seas Initiative summit in Sofia is to take place in Sofia, Bulgaria. The main priority is the establishment of business contacts as they will render the region more attractive for foreign investments and private capital, as a way of complementing the EU cohesion instruments.

How is the initiative viewed in Czechia, Slovakia, and Hungary? What are the expectations and why? What are the main priorities for them? What differences are in the approach of these countries? Join in for an online ZOOM presentation of The Perspective of the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia on the Three Seas Initiative paper and subsequent discussion.

Read more on the event here, register here

GMF US: China Global Podcast: China’s Vaccine Diplomacy with Ivana Karásková

What are China’s tactics and goals, and how have they evolved over the course of the pandemic? Will vaccine efficacy affect China’s ability to maneuver? Has Beijing had much luck in providing vaccines in exchange for political favors? Today on China Global, Bonnie Glaser digs deep into Beijing’s approach to vaccine diplomacy with Ivana Karásková, founder of MapInfluenCE and the organization China Observers in Central and Eastern Europe

Conference on Future of Europe aims to give citizens a stronger voice

In the course of the next year, European citizens will have the opportunity to bring in their own ideas on EU reform and policy as part of the Conference on the Future of Europe (CFE). Largely seen as the brainchild of France and Germany, its inaugural Conference Plenary will take place on 19 June 2021, in Strasbourg. Citizens of all member states can take part in the conference on the local and state levels as well. In order to find out more about the conference and its possible impact on the EU, Radio Prague International spoke to analyst Vendula Karásková from the think-tank Association for International Affairs.

Paradiplomacy of Czech, Polish and Slovak regions in a comparative perspective: main findings

Listen to the recording of the seminar on paradiplomacy in the V4.

National Approaches to the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy A Collaborative Report

Reads contributions of AMO to the report coordinated by GLOBSEC Slovakia.

Careful or Careless? Debating Chinese Investment and 5G Technology in Central Europe

The MapInfluenCE project is pleased to publish a brand-new comparative study, zooming in on media coverage of Chinese investment and Chinese involvement in 5G infrastructure in Czechia, Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia.  The research is a follow-up to the MapInfluenCE team’s 2018 study analyzing the overall media discourse on China in the V4 countries. Building upon the previous study, the new research digs deeper into the public debate on China that has become more diverse and specialized in terms of topics and perspectives, while China has simultaneously become a fixture of the Visegrad countries‘ foreign policies.

Connecting V4 and other regional expert networks & researching the potential for future EU coalitions: V4, Croatia, Slovenia & the EU enlargement in the Western Balkans

The Visegrad Group is considered to be an important actor supporting Western Balkan countries’ integration ambitions in the EU, while it also has a positive
reputation in the region. Some other EU members take an active part in supporting the enlargement process as well. Among them, especially the two former Yugoslav countries – Croatia and Slovenia – play a leading role. On the EU level, the V4 + Croatia and Slovenia, together with other like-minded member states, can continue supporting enlargement policy, while perhaps aiming to bring a new dynamic to it. This briefing paper addresses the potential of the partnership between the V4 countries, Croatia and Slovenia in this area.