Panel Debate
The Panel Debate of the 28th National Selection Conference of EYP CZ Brno 2026 will welcome four guests.
The topic of the Panel Debate of the 28th National Selection Conference of EYP CZ Brno 2026 is “EU among international giants”. Consequently, the discussion will focus on the role of the European Union among global powers. Current topics will be addressed, especially the competitiveness and defense capabilities of the Union, as well as its relations with NATO and the USA.
Guests
Aneta Zachová is the editor-in-chief of Update EU, a Czech news site that serves people interested in European Union affairs. In her editorial role, she leads coverage on EU politics and policies, with a particular focus on climate, energy and agriculture.
She is pursuing a Ph.D. in International Relations and European Politics at Masaryk University in Brno, where her research centres on the EU’s responses to crises. She holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and a Bachelor’s degree in Media Studies and Journalism from the same institution.
Mgr. Aneta Zachová, Ph.D.
Mgr. et Mgr. David Mareček, Ph.D.
David Mareček, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at the Department of International Relations and European Studies at Metropolitan University Prague. His research focuses on U.S. foreign policy and Euro-Atlantic relations, with particular attention to how security and political identity shape transatlantic dynamics from the Cold War to the present. He has conducted research at institutions such as Missouri Southern State University and Eötvös Loránd University and has participated in research projects in Brussels and Berlin.
Martin Jirušek is an Associate Professor at Masaryk University, Czech Republic, and Managing Editor of the Czech Journal of Political Science. He also works as a consultant and analyst. Martin has conducted several research projects in central and eastern Europe, Russia, and the United States. He received a Fulbright research scholarship and spent an academic year as a visiting researcher at George Washington University in Washington, DC (2021/2022). He was also selected for the International Visitors Leadership Program run by the United States Department of State (2019) and obtained the Center for European Policy Analysis´s James S. Denton Transatlantic Fellowship (2019). Martin regularly publishes in peer-reviewed journals and with reputable publishers, such as Palgrave Macmillan and Elsevier. In his work, Martin focuses on geopolitics, energy security, central and eastern Europe, Russia, the United States, and the transatlantic dimension of energy security.
Moderator
Zuzana Augustová
Zuzana Augustová is a long-time member of EYP Czech Republic. She has held a variety of roles in the organisation, for example the Head Organiser of a Regional Selection Conference in 2022 or the Member of the Board responsible for Human Resources. Zuzana studies journalism at the Faculty of Social Science at Charles University. Last year, she joined the Institute for European Policy EUROPEUM and currently works there as an Office and Project Coordinator.