Website: Czech Republic: EU Presidency, January – June 2009

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Publication Date January 2009
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Czechs to work on ‘three Es’ in EU presidency
By Tony Barber
Financial Times, 30 January 2008

Following in the footsteps of Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s unorthodox and super-energetic president, would be a hard act for any country inheriting the European Union’s six-month rotating presidency.

For the Czech Republic, which takes over on Thursday, the task is especially difficult, not least because the 27-nation EU is suffering from a financial crisis and economic recession more acute than anything in its 50-year history.

“Our agenda could be described as the three Es – economy, energy and external relations – but the financial crisis and its aftermath is such a strong topic that it is going to overshadow any of our national priorities,” Mirek Topolanek, the Czech prime minister, said in a Financial Times interview.

With 10.2m people, or little more than 2 per cent of the EU’s population, and per capita gross domestic product at 80 per cent of the EU average, the Czech Republic is under no illusions on its ability to make as big an impact as France did in the second half of 2008.

“I would like to have a very matter-of-fact presidency, very sober and, be­cause of this, very effective. We shouldn’t expend our strength on great shows,” Karel Schwarzenberg, the foreign minister, said.

“We should be happy with getting things moving forward, be it a mile or just a few feet, so that when we come to the end no one will say, ‘we wasted our time, there were no achievements’.”

Such modesty and pragmatism may calm the nerves of other EU countries that see more than a few potential problems cropping up during the next six months.

One takes the form of President Vaclav Klaus, whose opinions on the euro, climate change and the EU’s Lisbon institutional reform treaty range from quirky to hostile and put him far ­outside mainstream EU thinking.

As head of state, Mr Klaus enjoys only limited powers, and Mr Topolanek’s government plans to restrict him to as few EU-related public appearances as possible.

Nonetheless, Mr Klaus has already shown a capacity to be disruptive in minor matters, by refusing to fly the blue-and-gold EU flag at Prague Castle and by playing enthusiastic host to Declan Ganley, one of Ireland’s leading anti-Lisbon treaty campaigners. Mr Klaus has stated that, even if the Czech parliament approves Lisbon in the next few months, he will not sign it into law until it is clear whether Ireland, which rejected the treaty in a June referendum, will ratify it.

Another cause of concern is the weakness of Mr Topolanek’s ruling coalition, which lacks a clear parliamentary majority and could in theory fall from power in the middle of its EU presidency.

Equally, the Czech Republic’s non-eurozone status has raised doubts over its ability to lead discussions on EU economic and financial policy. But this problem may prove less serious after it was agreed under Mr Sarkozy that Czech officials would attend eurozone ­meetings.

With the European parliament dissolving itself ahead of elections next June, the Czech government will of necessity concentrate on non-legislative issues such as foreign policy in the last few months of its EU term.

The keenly pro-US Czechs want to develop a strong EU relationship with Barack Obama, the incoming US president, and also to advance a new EU policy known as the “eastern partnership”, whose aim is to build closer ties with the former Soviet republics of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

Frans Timmermans, the Dutch minister for EU affairs, says the Czech EU presidency will probably go more smoothly than many predict. “They’re highly professional people. The team they’ve put in place is certainly qualified. Of course, they’ve had some ‘national events’ . . . but they’ve been listening to older and more experienced member states in a good way.”

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009

Source Link Link to Main Source http://www.eu2009.cz/
Related Links
France24, 14.1.09: Czech PM refutes 'eurosceptic' label http://www.france24.com/en/20090114-czech-pm-topolanek-delivers-policy-speech-eu-parliament-strasbourg
European Parliament: Press Release, 14.1.09: MEPs debate the Czech Presidency with PM Topolánek http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/004-46092-012-01-03-901-20090113IPR46091-12-01-2009-2009-false/default_en.htm
Czech Republic: EU Presidency: Press Release, 14.1.09: Mirek Topolánek addressed the Members of the European Parliament http://www.eu2009.cz/en/news-and-documents/news/mirek-topolanek-will-speak-before-members-of-the-european-parliament-5847/
ESO: Background information: Czech EU slogan hits a sour note http://www.europeansources.info/record/czech-eu-slogan-hits-a-sour-note/
Hill and Knowlton: EU Presidency Guides http://www.hillandknowlton.be/presidency-guides
Wikipedia: Presidency of the Council of the European Union http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidency_of_the_Council_of_the_European_Union
Deutsche Welle, 16.12.08: Foreign Minister: Czech Republic Ready to Lead Europe in 2009 http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,3877783,00.html
EurActiv, 7.1.09: Energy security tops Czech Presidency agenda http://www.euractiv.com/priorities/energy-security-tops-czech-presi-news-220982
Czech Republic: EU Presidency: Programme and priorities http://www.eu2009.cz/en/czech-presidency/programme-and-priorities/programme-and-priorities-479/
BBC News, 1.1.09: Czechs take over leadership of EU http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7807054.stm
ESO: Background information: Czech MPs oust government over economy http://www.europeansources.info/record/czech-mps-oust-government-over-economy/
EurActiv: Links Dossier: The Czech EU Presidency http://www.euractiv.com/en/priorities/czech-eu-presidency/article-177910
EurActiv, 26.6.09: Brussels breathes again as EU presidency goes to Sweden http://www.euractiv.com/en/priorities/brussels-breathes-eu-presidency-goes-sweden/article-183562
EurActiv, 19.12.08: Interview: Czech government 'not fighting for survival' http://www.euractiv.com/en/priorities/interview-czech-government-fighting-survival/article-178246
SIEPS: The 2009 Czech EU Presidency: Contested Leadership at a Time of Crisis, 2009 http://www.europeum.org/doc/pdf/904.pdf
Russia Today, 9.1.09: Sarko threatening to steal Czechs’ thunder http://rt.com/news/

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