Webinars on the main topics of EU elections and media outputs
In June 2024 the consortium partners organised a series of the last RevivEU events on the forms of webinars about the media attention to the project´s main topics (rule of law, climate change, migration and post-pandemic recovery) and the role these topics played in the campaigns for the June 2024 European Parliament elections.
The RevivEU project gathered a lot of attention from media, especially during its first phase thanks to the unique data gathered via the citizens´ consultations in the 4 countries. Some of the examples include reports on the citizen´s attitudes towards EU in Hungary, Czechia and Slovakia; their attitudes towards migration, like the Czech support for Ukrainians, the way that different segments of societies look at migration, or a report on Slovak perceptions of refugees and migrants that gained attention in Netherlands. The issue of distrust and sense of injustice was discussed in a podcast and climate also gained a lot of attention –in Hungary, and the comparative analysis of the whole V4. During the later phases the attention was split into the target groups, during the different events part of all the work packages. Another round of attention came from the events for journalists, though these consisted more of background briefings on the EP election topics, rather than outputs for public sharing.
On the 5th of June the consortium members organised a common webinar taking place just before the EP elections across the member states to talk about the main topics of the election campaign in each of the countries, along with pointing out which RevivEU topics and findings got most traction in their respective countries. The webinar as organised in English and besides domestic audience attracted a number of Brussels-based guests focused on Central Europe. Talking on behald of Hungary, 21 Researcg Center´s Dabiel Róna talked about the campaign, the growing challenge of Peter Magyar and highlighted the topic of rule of law as one of the main topics. Projekt Polska´s Milosz Hodun then explained that after the relative relief of pro-European parties in the autumn 2023 parliamentary elections, the EP elections in Poland did not get that much traction but mentioned support for Ukraine and transatlantic relations as the few topics that were discussed. Representing Slovakia´s Bratislava Policy Institute, Filip Bajtoš had the uneasy task of evaluating a campaign that got completely derailed and quiet after the attempted assassination of Prime Minister Fico, which the Slovak government tried to use to its advantage and which meant that most of the “traditional” policy topics were missing from the campaign. He further added that Slovakia was quite tired of the highly divisive campaigns of the autumn parliamentary and spring presidential elections, which also affected the attention that the EP election got. EUROPEUM´s Klára Votavoá summarised the Czech campaign, which discussed mostly on the topics of migration and the economic situation in Europe, and highlighted that the discourse patterns looked similar to the patterns researched in the RevivEU´s discourse analysis. While the participants were attentive and expressed their thanks for the insights, the only follow-up question as about more info about what kind of attention the topic of migration, especially migration in the aftermath of the Russian aggression towarss Ukraine, played in the campaign in each of the countries.
Poland
The webinar on 27th of June was organized to summarize the election campaign and election results in V4 countries. During the presentation by dr. Milosz Hodun, coordinator of the RevivEU project in Poland, key findings of all components of the project were shortly presented. Later, the final results of the EP elections in V4 were commented. Key RevivEU topics, namely migration, rule of law, post-Covid policies and climate, were linked with campaign strategies in all four countries in CEE and it was explained how they were influenced the final results in particular states.
Participants, who were mostly representatives of NGOs and students of social science from all over Poland, were in particular interested in the comparative aspect of the presentation. They started a discussion about similarities and differences between Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary. They found the most interesting the role the rule of law played in the elections in Poland and Hungary, which was a great opportunity to recommend further reading of policy and discourse analysis created within the framework of the project.
Another – but this time more future-oriented – topic that participants found interesting was the representation of different parties from V4 in political groups in the EP. It was stressed that Polish prime minister strengthened his position as he is a head of government of one of the EU’s biggest countries and Poland will have second biggest delegation in the European People’s Party (after Germany). It was stressed by some participants that the fact that both winners of Czech and Slovak elections, ANO and PS, seat in the same group – Renew Europe – regardless of their dramatically different profile and programme, and the fact that ANO leader attacked forcefully PS in the campaign.
The discussion was lively. Participants were keen to understand the broader implications of the election outcomes on the integrity of democratic institutions in the EU.
The event underscored the importance of examining election outcomes not just from an immediate standpoint but also considering long-term trends and impacts on democratic institutions. Participants left with a nuanced understanding of the current political climate in the EU and the factors influencing key topics of public debate in the V4 region.
Hungary
On June 13th, a highly anticipated webinar was conducted to analyze the outcomes of the 2024 European Parliament and municipal elections in Hungary in the light of the rule of law. The event featured insights from Daniel Róna, Director of 21kutatóközpont, and Ágoston Mráz from Nézőpont Intézet. The webinar was accessible live via Zoom, allowing participants to engage with the experts and ask questions about the implications of the election results.
Róna and Mráz began the discussion by identifying the primary winners and losers of the elections. They highlighted several surprising results that deviated from pre-election forecasts. These included unexpected gains by smaller parties and a notable shift in voter turnout patterns compared to previous elections.
One of the significant aspects discussed was the historical significance of Hungary holding municipal and European Parliament elections on the same day for the first time. The experts deliberated on how this simultaneous scheduling might have influenced voter behavior and turnout. They speculated that the combined elections could have led to higher engagement and participation, as voters consolidated their efforts to influence both local and European political landscapes.
The webinar also explored the potential ramifications of the election results on both the national political scene and Hungary’s position within the European Union. The experts examined how the newly elected representatives and municipal leaders might shape future policy directions and Hungary’s interactions with EU institutions.
A significant portion of the discussion was dedicated to evaluating the election results through the lens of the rule of law. Daniel Róna, leveraging research from the CERV program, drew connections between the election outcomes and assessments of the rule of law in Visegrád Four (V4) countries. He pointed out that while the results might not seem favorable at first glance, a longitudinal perspective indicates that the current outcomes do not pose a greater threat to the rule of law than previous elections.
During the Q&A session, the audience posed several questions, primarily focusing on how the EU election results might influence the rule of law across Europe. Participants were keen to understand the broader implications of the election outcomes on the integrity of democratic institutions in the EU.
The webinar provided a comprehensive analysis of the 2024 European Parliament and municipal elections in Hungary. The insights shared by Daniel Róna and Ágoston Mráz offered valuable perspectives on the implications of the election results for Hungary’s political landscape and its role within the EU. The event underscored the importance of examining election outcomes not just from an immediate standpoint but also considering long-term trends and impacts on democratic institutions. Participants left with a nuanced understanding of the current political climate and the factors influencing the rule of law in the V4 region.
Slovakia
BPI organized a series of three online webinars titled “RevivEU: V4’s Emerging Trends.” The purpose was to inform representatives of EU-based NGOs, with whom BPI and Denisa Karabova collaborate, about the main results of the RevivEU project. The webinars covered four key topics: migration, rule of law, climate, and COVID-19, with a particular emphasis on media coverage of the project.
The first event (on 19th of June) was facilitated by RevivEU BPI project manager Denisa Karabová, while the subsequent two webinars (on 27th and 30th of June) were facilitated by BPI and RevivEU researcher Ingrid Borarosová. In each webinar, participants were provided with comprehensive insights into the RevivEU project’s findings. The discussions also focused on the results of the European elections and their implications for the V4 region and represented countries in the webinar. Participants from different EU countries shared their perspectives and experiences which was very enriching the discussion.
In total there were 23 participants from 10 EU countries, one call was joined also by Turkish citizens who are not counted as participants.
Participants expressed mainly an interest in the topic of the rule of law, as many European countries currently face threats to democracy, and the rise of populism, radicalism, and extremism.
The series of online webinars successfully disseminated crucial findings from the RevivEU project and provided a platform for meaningful dialogue among EU NGO representatives. The emphasis on rule of law resonated strongly with participants, highlighting the ongoing challenges in preserving democratic values in Europe.
Czechia
The last event of the RevivEU in Czechia also took place on 27th of June, in the form of a webinar on the topic of evaluation of the outcomes of the Ep elections, their main topics, the way the topics were covered by media and politicians in Czechia during the campaign, along with additional evaluation of how the tpoics and findings of the RevivEU project and EUROPEUM researchers were both covered and use in the coverage. This evaluation was provided to a group of 22 participants by EUROPEUM´s RevivEU researcher Klára Votavová and deputy director and former journalist Viktor Daněk. Despite slight technical issues during the webinar caused by a huge thunderstorm in Prague and subsequent loss of connection, the participants expressed their interests and thanks for the analyses, and followed up with additional questions about the speakers´ expectations for the future set-up of the European Parliament, the main topics it will probably focus on and what influence the Czech elected MEPs will have given the then creation of new political groupings.
