IES Commentaries | Institute of Central Europe

Visegrad Team

Komentarze IEŚ 184

Łukasz Lewkowicz - Visegrad Team

New Foreign Policy of Slovakia: Strengthening Transatlantic Orientation and Active Regional Cooperation (Łukasz Lewkowicz)

On April 19 Slovakian Prime Minister Igor Matovič presented the government’s program for 2020-2024, which was subsequently adopted by the National Council of the Slovak Republic on April 30. The anti-corruption activities, the reform of the justice system, and the pro-social policy constitute the central pillars of the new document. In the field of foreign policy, a clear...

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Balkan Team

Komentarze IEŚ 190

Jan Muś - Balkan Team

Consequences of COVID-19 Pandemic in Croatia and Call for Reforms (Jan Muś)

In the context of Croatia, the consequences of COVID-19 will depend on two aspects: the length of the pandemic, and the scale of assistance from the European Union (EU). It is clear, however, that the economic aftermath will be severe. This is an obvious threat to the dominant Croatian Democratic Union under the leadership of liberal Andrej Plenković, who is serving as the prime...

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Visegrad Team

Komentarze IEŚ 14

Agata Tatarenko - Visegrad Team

“Magna Hungaria” and “the Treaty of Trianon” in the Hungarian politics of memory: an outline of the issue (Agata Tatarenko)

“Magna Hungaria” and “the Treaty of Trianon” are two of several fundamental terms featured in the Hungarian politics of memory. Owing to a strong position they occupy in the cultural memory of Hungarians, they are a flexible substance for Fidesz and Viktor Orbán to base their actions upon and subordinate these to their present political objectives. These encompass e.g....

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Balkan Team

Komentarze IEŚ 182

clivio - Balkan Team

Croatian-Polish cooperation for implementing the European Green Deal (Ana-Maria Boromisa)

The European Green Deal implementation requires significant investment and a profound economic and social transformation. Poland, Czech Republic, and Hungary consider that the pandemic and its aftermath do not allow time for green ideas and that the economies should recover first. On the other hand, integrating the economic stimulus packages in the European Green Deal could...

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Visegrad Team

Komentarze IEŚ 166

clivio - Visegrad Team

Removal of the Statue of Marshal Ivan Konev in Prague: a crisis in Czech-Russian relations (Agata Tatarenko)

After several years of dispute, the authorities of Prague 6 removed the monument of Marshal Ivan Konev from the public space. The statue is to be sent to the not-yet-existent Museum of Memory of the 20th century. The conflict over the memorial related to the history of World War II indicates a deepening crisis in Czech-Russian reactions, in which Prague’s local government is...

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Visegrad Team

Komentarze IEŚ 162

Marlena Gołębiowska - Visegrad Team

COVID-19 and the digitalization of Central Europe (Marlena Gołębiowska)

The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has become a global stress test. The restrictions of social distancing have led the world to accelerated “lessons” in the areas of communication, digital skills, online activities, information technology for businesses and digital public services. Paradoxically, this could be a turning point in the digital transformation of the Central European...

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Visegrad Team

Komentarze IEŚ 157

Szczepan Czarnecki - Visegrad Team

COVID-19 Pandemic in Czechia, Hungary and Slovakia (Szczepan Czarnecki, Dominik Héjj, Łukasz Lewkowicz, Agata Tatarenko)

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the authorities of Czechia, Hungary and Slovakia to adopt a number of similar solutions such as strict lockdown or closing the borders. Decisive steps to limit and slow down the spread of COVID-19 have been undertaken in these countries earlier than in Western Europe. Each authorities have prepared an assistance package for domestic economies. At the...

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Visegrad Team

Komentarze IEŚ 156

clivio - Visegrad Team

Montenegro in the face of COVID-19 pandemic (Agata Domachowska)

Montenegro was the last European country to confirm a case of SARS-CoV-2. Yet even before receiving this information, the Montenegrin government undertook a number of actions to prepare the state and its society for the pandemic. Also an economic package was presented with the aim of helping entrepreneurs to survive the crisis. Simultaneously, the Montenegrin authorities look to...

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Visegrad Team

Komentarze IEŚ 155

Andrzej Szabaciuk - Visegrad Team

The Importance of Establishing a Consultative Council in Minsk from the Point of View of Settling the Conflict in Eastern Ukraine (Andrzej Szabaciuk)

On 11 March in Minsk, the Tripartite Contact Group on a peaceful settlement of the conflict in the Donbas (TCG) signed an agreement about the establishment of the Consultative Council: an advisory body in which representatives of Ukraine and the separatist republics should deal with the political aspects of the Ukrainian crisis. Information about the new Minsk agreement caused...

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Visegrad Team

Komentarze IEŚ 152

Dominik Wilczewski - Visegrad Team

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and the COVID-19 pandemic (Aleksandra Kuczyńska-Zonik, Dominik Wilczewski)

Several measures to protect citizens and limit the spread of coronavirus have been implemented by Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia as a result of the first cases of the COVID-19 disease confirmed. Currently, three Baltic states have adopted mechanisms and preventive measures similar to Poland’s. Due to the borders being closed and private cars being refused to transit through...

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