The year 2020 will become one of defining moments for societies across the globe, including Europe and Czechia. The coronavirus crisis revealed the weaknesses of national economies, political and party systems, the education systems, healthcare systems, labour markets, generational conflicts and also the weaknesses of the European integration process and its fragility. While it has revealed these more or less hidden/visible weaknesses, it has not resolved any of the long-term issues; in many cases it actually reinforced them. We are consequently facing a situation involving a changing global paradigm.
This publication addresses several important issues related to the current Czech and European experience. Ladislav Cabada analyses the long-term direction of Czech foreign policy and its main trends with a special emphasis on the post-2013 period. Pavel Havlíček discusses one traditional aspect of Czech foreign policy, the EU’s Eastern Partnership, and its outlook for the post-2020 era. Olaf Wientzek focuses on the EU and the impact of Covid-19 with respect to its relations with USA and China, that is, the wider international arena. Pavel Hroboň presents his proposal for reforms on the Czech level, addressing the full complexity of care provision, which would make the system more efficient while guaranteeing its accessibility. Media freedom, analysed by Viktória Jančošeková, is another area where the Covid-19 crisis has demonstrated substantial weaknesses; she endorses a stronger legislative framework ensuring media freedom and protection from political and economic influence. Jonáš Syrovátka discusses the so-called information disorder and the related threats to our security. Otto Eibl focuses on segmentation and election campaigns and Lucie Tungul analyses the integration of Muslim migrants. Eva Palacková addresses the impact of the Green Deal on the SMEs and labels them ‘pillars’ of sustainable recovery under the condition that they will have access to consultancy and financial resources. The last chapter by Jaromír Hurník, Zdeněk Tůma and David Vávra discusses the topic of adopting the euro; they present the essential arguments for and against joining the eurozone.
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