Czechs take over EU Council Presidency despite “bad weather”

The Czech Republic takes over the rotating six-month presidency of the European Union on Friday, with all eyes on Ukraine, which has been battling Russian forces since February.

At the start of its Council Presidency, the Czech government will meet EU Commissioners in a castle for talks followed by a concert.

But the Czech turn at the top – taking over France – is unlikely to provide much leisure time as the war rages four months after the Russian invasion, analysts say.

“This presidency is not for good weather, but for bad times,” Pavel Havlicek of the Prague-based Association for International Affairs told AFP.

The central European country of 10.5 million, which has been a member of the EU since 2004, has promised to focus largely on aid to Ukraine and the aftermath of the war.

It wants to help contain the refugee crisis, kick-start post-war reconstruction efforts, strengthen the EU’s energy security, defense capacity and economic resilience, and improve the resilience of its democratic institutions.

“All the priorities are very well chosen and if we manage to put at least some of them on the table, start talks with partners and make at least some decisions, I would say that we haven’t wasted any time,” said Havlicek.

The Czechs have earned respect abroad by doing their part to help Ukraine, he added.

Since the invasion began on February 24, the Czech Republic has taken in nearly 400,000 Ukrainian refugees and has provided significant financial and military assistance to Kyiv.

Within the EU, she is also a vocal supporter of sanctions against Russia.

Right-wing Prime Minister Petr Fiala, a former political scientist who co-wrote a 992-page book on the EU, recently said he would try to organize a summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The event would also feature Western Balkan countries whose EU bids, backed by the Czech Republic and others in the region, have recently stalled.

But the summit that would offer Ukraine a Marshall Plan – like the US initiative to help western Europe rebuild after World War II – would only take place if the war were over by then.

But political analyst Jiri Pehe said this requirement makes the project unrealistic.

“The conflict is unlikely to end before the end of the Czech presidency,” he told AFP news agency.

“I think the Czechs will just try to organize a summit on Ukraine and … convince other countries to continue helping the country.”

The Czechs are ill-placed to have a debate about economic recovery or energy security, Pehe said. The country faces high inflation, has yet to join the eurozone and relies on nuclear energy, which some EU members including Germany oppose, he added.

“It can hardly take the lead in that regard, and I think it’s more likely to mediate at summits or talks on these issues, with other countries taking the lead,” he said.

Czechs tend to be eurosceptic. A survey by the government-commissioned MINT agency in March found that only 36 percent of them are satisfied with the EU.

Fiala’s centre-right government is less Eurosceptic than some of its predecessors, but analysts have questioned its ability to distance itself from EU troublemakers Hungary and Poland.

With both countries – and with Slovakia – Prague maintains close ties within the so-called Visegrad Four group.

Both Hungary and Poland have fallen out of favor in Brussels for their stance on the rule of law.

European Council Vice-President Vera Jourova, who is Czech, recently urged the government to take a clear stance on Hungary and Poland as they preside over the 27-strong bloc.

But Pehe remained skeptical: “I don’t see a chance that the Czech Republic will take a more critical stance.”