Never Let Crises Go to Waste

Bulgaria will have new parliamentary elections and the Czech PM’s future lies in the hands of opposition members. The EU will look towards the future in a series of high profile events while the Russian conflict and diplomatic row continue to spread across the region. 

Main takeaways:

• EU officials will address the future of the union in several events including the State of the EU and Europe Day
• Bulgaria will have new elections in the middle of summer
• Czech prime minister’s future lies in doubt after calls for a vote of no confidence increase
• Poland and Lithuania express their strong support for Ukraine’s sovereignty amid talk of de-escalating the Russian conflict
• Romania-Russia relations are strained following the expulsion of a deputy military attaché from the Russian Embassy
• Slovenian state press agency is nearing bankruptcy
• Questions over the continued development of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline after EU Parliament and US Secretary of State called for it to be halted
• Czech-Russian diplomatic row spreads across the region with investigations from Sofia expected to be released later in the month
• Economic recovery plans will offer a lifeline to many CEE countries, but with them, the EC is increasing their influence on domestic markets

Europe in a changing world 

On 9 May (Europe Day), the EU institutions plan to hold joint events with statements on the future of the bloc. The Brussels bubble talk will seek to reinstate the values and principles of European integration and downplay the hurdles on the way.

However, this optimistic agenda may be overshadowed by the reality of the democratic backsliding of several member states. In the past, EU leaders have been already pointing out this challenge along with several others: hybrid aggression from the neighbours to the east, the tiring of the transatlantic partnership, a perpetual slew of disinformation, successive financial and migration crises as well as a pandemic.

In the recent past, the EU has stared down the Trump administration when it strayed away from transatlantic values. It took a leadership role in addressing issues of the utmost importance, such as climate change, all while saying farewell to the first country to leave the union. Yes, the EU has undergone some tumultuous ordeals over the past several months and years, and yet it has held together (almost) through it all. But unlike in the past decades of the 20th century, it does not yet come with a positive agenda.