Czechia: This Covid-19 environment is not conducive to external solidarity
Has external solidarity and aid for third countries become a relevant socio-political topic in the Czech Republic during the COVID-19 pandemic? And do we focus more on "coronationalism" or global geopolitical ambitions of the EU? Our researcher Jan Kovář answers these questions in his report for EPIN (European Policy Institutes Network).
EU member states have been discussing how to deal with the socio-economic repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic, collectively. While lively debates about internal solidarity continue, there is also the pressing issue of how the EU and its member states wish to support third countries outside the EU, in tackling their health and economic emergencies. On the one hand, the EU wishes to become a geopolitical power, which demands that the Union and its member states step up their supportive role on the global scene. On the other, there are signs of ‘coronationalism,’ with some national political parties questioning the timing of EU external aid when member states themselves are struggling.
Along with academics from 12 other European countries, our researcher Jan Kovář contributed to the EPIN report, which delves into the question of whether and how external solidarity features in political and public discourse in Covid-struck Europe. It finds that, for now, neither coronationalist nor geopolitical ambitions dominate the relatively little politicised debates about international cooperation and development aid.
You can read the whole report here.
Mgr. Jan Kovář, Ph.D., is a Senior Researcher of the IIR. He focuses mostly on the topics related to the European Union. His field of interest is European integration, EU´s inner security, the institutional framework of the EU, and its reform.
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Tomáš Profant