This course examines the position of the Czech Republic in the European Union and the Czech policy within the EU. It starts with the historical and geopolitical context of the European integration during and after the Cold War until its biggest enlargement in 2004. We will summarize hopes and anxieties associated with the Eastern enlargement both on the side of the European Union (then EU15) and on the side of the Czech Republic (and the CEE countries as such).
We will assess the attitudes of the Czech public (Czech society) and Czech political parties towards the EU. We will then move on towards discussing Czech institutions (especially government) and their role in representing the Czech Republic within the European Union. The course also addresses the conduct of the Czech Presidencies of the Council of the European Union in 2009 and 2022.
The second part of the course will focus on Czech priorities with regard to selected individual policies of the European Union (Common Foreign and Security Policy, Regional Policy, Economic and Monetary Union, and the Area of Freedom, Security, and Justice). We will assess, on one hand, the impact of such policies on the Czech Republic and, on the other hand, Czech influence on its implementation and future development.
- Učitel: Vít Beneš