United States

Venezuela

Iran

China

Czech Republic

Spain

Russia

Military & Security

Politics

Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello announced that the government arrested three U.S. citizens, two Spaniards and a Czech national for their alleged participation in a conspiracy to destabilize the administration, El Pais reported on Sept. 14. 

Venezuela: Alleged Anti-Government Plot Portends Crackdown on Opposition

Estonia

Sweden

Netherlands

Georgia

Economics

Several EU countries -- including Estonia, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Sweden -- are pushing for sanctions against Georgia, including the suspension of visa-free travel to the bloc, in response to the government's efforts to pass the "foreign agents" bill, the Financial Times reported on May 22.

Georgia: EU Members Push for Sanctions Against Georgia Over 'Foreign Agents' Bill

Japan

The U.S. Treasury Department will issue a proposal to strengthen the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, and its ability to review and address investments in the United States that harm U.S. national security, Axios reported on April 11. 

U.S.: Biden Administration Aims To Strengthen Committee Reviewing Foreign Investment

Ukraine

Cyber

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

The Czech Republic's transport minister says that since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has made thousands of attempts to interfere with European rail networks and to weaken systems, Financial Times reported on April 4. 

EU, Russia: Prague Says Russia Made Thousands of Attempts to Interfere With European Rail Networks

France

French President Emmanuel Macron said European countries sending troops to Ukraine is a scenario that "could not be ruled out," despite a lack of consensus to do so thus far, Reuters reported Feb. 26.

France, EU, Ukraine: Macron Raises Possibility of Deploying Troops to Ukraine, Drops Objection to non-EU Artillery Purchases

Luxembourg

Lithuania

Malta

Germany

Finland

Latvia

Denmark

Greece

Belgium

Bulgaria

Portugal

Poland

Romania

Croatia

Cyprus

Austria

Slovakia

Slovenia

Italy

Ireland

Hungary

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

The European Commission recommended reducing the European Union's net greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040 compared with 1990 levels, Reuters reported Feb. 6. 

EU: Brussels to Exclude Agriculture from 90% Emissions Reduction Target for 2040

European Union member states unanimously agreed to a 50 billion euro ($54 billion) financial support package for Ukraine as part of their joint budget through 2027, for which Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban lifted his veto on the initiative, Reuters reported Feb. 1.

EU, Ukraine: EU Leaders Unanimously Agree to New 50 Billion Euro Aid Package for Kyiv

Negotiators from EU member states and the European Parliament reached a preliminary agreement to overhaul the bloc's asylum and migration rules, Reuters reported on Dec. 20.

EU: Bloc's Institutions Reach Agreements on New Asylum and Migration Rules

Snapshots

United Kingdom

Members of the European Parliament take part in voting on the Artificial Intelligence Act during a plenary session at the European Parliament.

The EU's recently negotiated Artificial Intelligence Act will bolster the European Union's dominance as a regulatory heavyweight in emerging technologies, yet anticipated enforcement challenges and stringent stipulations with the Act risk impeding AI innovation within the bloc.

EU Lawmakers Clinch Agreement on Artificial Intelligence Act 

Europe

Rail cars loaded with steel sit at the ThyssenKrupp Schwelgern steel plant on May 30, 2018 in Duisburg, Germany. 

The European Union and the United States will increase efforts to deconflict their trade and climate policies ahead of the upcoming U.S. presidential and EU parliamentary elections, but lingering disagreements will not allow for a complete respite of Trump-era tariffs on EU steel and aluminum.

EU-U.S. Steel and Aluminum Negotiations Make Limited Headway

German Minister of State for European Affairs Michael Roth speaks on the screen during a virtual EU press conference in Brussels, Belgium, on Nov. 17, 2020. 

COVID-19

EU: Regional Blocs

The Fate of the Eurozone

European Disintegration

Hungary and Poland’s move to veto an EU spending package could delay the disbursement of much-needed funds to the bloc’s struggling economies. 

A Rule of Law Dispute Threatens Europe’s Economic Recovery 

A satellite image shows Europe at night.

Security

The New Silk Road

Divided EU Foreign Policies

The U.S. and the Balance of Power

The move shows the White House remains committed to its security and economic engagements in the region, with an eye on countering China and Russia. 

The U.S. Ramps Up Financial Support to Central and Eastern Europe

Assessments

Serbia

Albania

Many of Eastern Europe's governments are lurching away from democracy, provoking pushback from civil society.

As governments in EU members like the Czech Republic, Romania and others run roughshod over the bloc's values, civil society groups are fighting to uphold the rule of law.

Eastern Europe Witnesses a Quiet Revolution

Doubts over who will be the country's next president and prime minister tie into regional concerns over the future of Czech foreign policy.

Czech Republic: Parliament Votes Down the New Government

The increasing unwillingness of eastern members to heed the EU's demands threatens to deepen the divide between the bloc's west and east.

Quarrels between the European Union's new member states and their more established neighbors are disrupting the search for harmony on the Continent.

In the EU, East and West Are Falling Out of Tune

Czech voters have clearly stated their support for the anti-establishment Action of Dissatisfied Citizens (ANO) party, but eight other parties also made it into the legislature. As parliament works to build a coalition, the country will struggle to balance its loyalties to both Eastern and Western Europe.

Czech Republic: Parliamentary Elections Put Populist Party in the Driver's Seat

Reflections

French President Emmanuel Macron will soon focus on Central and Eastern Europe, meeting with the leaders of Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia in Salzburg on Aug. 23, and then visiting Romania on Aug. 24 and Bulgaria on Aug. 25. The official goal of these meetings is to discuss the situation of Eastern European nationals working in Western Europe. But France is also playing a more subtle political game. 

As the European Union deliberates its future, French President Emmanuel Macron will use his tour of Central and Eastern Europe to try to shape the role they have in it.

The Subtle Game France Is Playing in Central Europe

Bosnia and Herzegovina

North Macedonia

Supply Chains

China in Transition

Despite its goal to foster integration throughout Eurasia, Beijing has so far emphasized bilateral or subregional agreements with its Belt and Road projects in Europe, an approach that has raised the suspicions of the bloc's central powers.

For China, All Roads (and Belts) Lead to Europe

China's Belt and Road Initiative

Gazprom european commission antitrust

Energy

The Politics of Pipelines

Its relationship with Brussels is improving, but the company still has enemies in the bloc. 

In Europe, Signs of Promise for Gazprom

Columns

On Geopolitics

EU Collapse Brexit London Brussels

Like all political creations, the European Union is a fleeting construction in the vast expanse of history. One day it will disappear, to be replaced by other entities, or it will continue in name only, looking and operating far differently than the European Union of today. It is impossible to know exactly when this transformation will happen or just how long the process will take.

Who Will Exit the EU Next?

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe surrounded by Austria, Germany, Poland and Slovakia. Its capital and most populous city is Prague. The Czech Republic's historic regions are Bohemia in the west, Moravia in the east and Czech Silesia in the north-east. These regions coincide with the basins of the country's main rivers with the Elbe and the Vltava for Bohemia, the Morava for Moravia and the Oder for Czech Silesia.     The Czech Republic's location and relatively flat landscape have historically brought prosperity to the region by placing it at the center of some of the oldest trade routes in Europe. Between the 11th and 19th centuries, the Kingdom of Bohemia was an essential part of the Holy Roman Empire and several of its kings were elected to rule as Holy Roman Emperors. But the Czech Republic's lack of natural barriers has also made it easy to invade. During World War II, for example, the territory that was then known as Czechoslovakia was occupied by the Nazis and, later, was brought under the Soviet sphere of influence. The end of the Cold War brought about drastic changes for the region and, in 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully split into the independent states of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Czech Republic went on to join NATO in 1999 and the European in 2004.      Currently, The Czech Republic is a dynamic, export-driven economy with low unemployment levels. But its deep connection to the German economy is both an advantage and a threat, as the Czech economy is subject to fluctuations in the economic health of its main trading partner. As a small country, Prague often seeks to balance its membership in blocs such as the European Union with protecting its national sovereignty. The country has so far chosen not to join the eurozone but has also sought to deepen ties with its Central European neighbors through the Visegrad Group, which includes Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. As the European Union's core membership insists on efforts to federalize, this will present a challenge for the Czech Republic.

SITUATION REPORTS

Venezuela: Alleged Anti-Government Plot Portends Crackdown on Opposition

Georgia: EU Members Push for Sanctions Against Georgia Over 'Foreign Agents' Bill

U.S.: Biden Administration Aims To Strengthen Committee Reviewing Foreign Investment

EU, Russia: Prague Says Russia Made Thousands of Attempts to Interfere With European Rail Networks

France, EU, Ukraine: Macron Raises Possibility of Deploying Troops to Ukraine, Drops Objection to non-EU Artillery Purchases

EU: Brussels to Exclude Agriculture from 90% Emissions Reduction Target for 2040

EU, Ukraine: EU Leaders Unanimously Agree to New 50 Billion Euro Aid Package for Kyiv

EU: Bloc's Institutions Reach Agreements on New Asylum and Migration Rules

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