Brexit, pandemic show cooperation is only way forward: EC chief in Slovakia

The need to work closely in health care and medicine was the major takeaway for the EU from COVID-19. "I remember very well when we started in the [European] Commission to gather data about rare diseases or cancer. It took months and months of negotiations with member states to allow the Commission to collect the data because medical issues are not in the EU's remit," Šucha says.

Brexit also taught EU institutions that they need to engage in constant dialogue with citizens. This has resulted in the ongoing Conference on the Future of Europe, a series of debates and discussions that the Commission launched to give EU citizens the opportunity to share ideas.

Brexit was a "cold shower", he believes, consuming a lot of energy and is still not settled. And while he notes the consequences of all these crises "are quite negative in many ways," Šucha also sees opportunity.

"I have the impression that the EU is strengthening and developing with each crisis. During a crisis, you concentrate on the solution, you see much more clearly what is functioning well and what is not. There is also an appetite and energy to change," he says.

Slovakia needs to learn solidarity door swings both ways

The latest crisis the EU faces is the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. In Slovakia, an immediate neighbour of Ukraine, this has sparked a fierce debate about public attitudes towards NATO and Russia, fuelled and driven by pro-Russian disinformation websites.

The possibility of the arrival of tens of thousands of refugees across the Slovak border from Ukraine has been linked to the previous rejection of refugee quotas by the four countries of the Central Europe. Some observers have pointed out that this stance might now...