Czech Republic

The Czech Republic's economy is the most manufacturing-intensive in the EU: industry accounts for roughly 30% of GDP, heavily integrated with German automotive supply chains (Skoda, owned by Volkswagen, is the largest employer). This integration provides growth during European expansion cycles but transmits German recessions directly into Czech economic performance. The political system has struggled with fragmentation — the 2021 election produced a five-party governing coalition — and corruption scandals, including the prosecution of former Prime Minister Babis. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the EU in 2004 but has not adopted the euro, maintaining the koruna as a policy tool for managing its manufacturing-export-dependent economy. As part of the Visegrad Group (with Poland, Hungary, Slovakia), the Czech Republic has periodically positioned itself as a counterweight to Franco-German EU leadership, though its resistance to institutional reform is less ideological than Poland's or Hungary's and more pragmatically motivated by economic self-interest.