Czech Presidency

The Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU begins today. One of the challenges that the Czech Republic will face is the possible extension of sanctions against Russia, for instance in the gas sector. However, the geographical proximity of Ukraine to the Czech Republic should facilitate negotiations on this issue. Žiga Faktor, head of our Brussels office, commented on this topic for the Slovenian online daily DELO.

We would like to invite you to the next debate in the Café Evropa series, this time on the topic "Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU - what awaits the EU under Czech leadership?". The debate will take place on 23.6.2022 in person at Jungmannova 745/24 (Evropský dům).

Our Senior Fellow Vít Havelka appeared live on Radio Z to talk about the upcoming Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU. He answered how the Czech Republic will influence the debate and what challenges the Czech Republic will face during the Presidency.

The head of our Brussels office, Žiga Faktor, commented for ČRo Plus on the Czech Republic's position as the presiding country in Ukraine's EU accession talks. In his commentary, he mentioned what is the decisive factor for the length of the accession talks and whether it is possible to change these procedures during the state of war.

We cordially invite you to the next debate in the EU± series, this time on the topic Climate in the European Parliament - Outlook for the Czech Presidency. How will the vote affect the Czech Presidency? Does this mean the end of the green policy efforts in the EU? The debate will take place online on Facebook on Wednesday 14 June at 17:30.

Our senior research fellow Vít Havelka has written an OUTLOOK entitled "2022 Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU", where he analyses the future course of the Czech Presidency and the biggest challenges. In his paper, he focuses on two levels of the Presidency's work, namely the political and legislative agenda.

Our researchers Kateřina Davidová and Zuzana Stuchlíková assessed for Deník N the motto of the Czech Presidency, which will be "Europe as a task: reform, renew, strengthen". According to both researchers, this is a good choice. The speech by Václav Havel, to which the motto refers, is still relevant today.

Vít Havelka, a research fellow at the Europeum Institute, spoke on ČT24's Studia programme about preparations for the Czech EU Presidency, which begins in July. Havelka's main focus is on the change in the role of the presidency from 2009. Now it is mainly about negotiating new European legislation than it was before. Furthermore, he also presented the direction of the Czech Republic in the legislative process and mentioned political priorities, where one of the main topics will be the war in Ukraine.

The EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy, the Balkans Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG) and the European Fund for the Balkans (EFB) invite you to a public conference on the Balkans and its politics at the event entitled: Consequences of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine for the Western Balkans: Challenges and Opportunities for the Czech Presidency. The debate will take place on 11 May 2022 at 18:30 at Impact Hub K10, Koperníkova 10, Prague 2 - Vinohrady, 120 00.

Our Researcher Vít Havelka commented for Lidovky.cz the Czech Presidency and the Czech summit. In the interview, he answers questions about the summit and plans for the Czech Presidency.

Our research fellow Vít Havelka wrote an analysis for iDnes.cz summarising the challenges of the Czech EU Presidency for the Czech government.

Vladimír Bartovic, the director of the EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy, commented for Hospodářské Noviny on the government's reduction of spending on the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union. He points out that there are currently fewer Czech representatives in the presidency than representatives from Malta, a fact that could weaken the Czech Republic's position.