Czech ambassador outlines EU presidency priorities

The Czech Republic’s top official in Brussels says that tackling ‘obstacles’ which ‘prevent Europe from fulfilling its economic potential’ will be one of the priorities of her country’s EU presidency

Speaking in Brussels on Tuesday, Milena Vicenova also hopes that at the end of the six-month presidency “no-one will think that we Czechs are eurosceptic.”

The 52-year-old also pledged to “concentrate all our energy” on resolving the current impasse on the stalled Lisbon treaty

Vicenova, one of the few female ambassadors in Brussels, was outlining her country’s priorities when it takes over the EU presidency from France on 1 January.

“I know quite a few people will be asking whether the Czechs really are eurosceptic,” she said.

“There is no doubt that our presidency comes at no easy time for Europe and the rest of the world. It will be a real challenge.”

She said the presidency will focus on ‘3 E’s’ – the economy, energy and external relations.

On the economic front, she told a packed audience that the French presidency deserved praise for its “prompt, effective and efficient” response to the global financial crisis.

One primary aim of the incoming presidency, she said, will be to help remove the ‘barriers’ which currently hinder efforts to realise Europe’s full economic potential.

Again praising the French for ‘unexpectedly’ pushing through the climate and energy package at last week’s EU summit, she promised a “thorough analysis” of the EU’s energy supplies.

She said the Czechs would open two negotiating chapters with Turkey and “strongly supported” the EU membership ambitions of states in the West Balkans, saying, “Our country, traditionally, has a deep relationship with countries in this region.”

“However, we cannot and will not make promise and our role will be that of the honest broker and facilitator.”

She also hopes the presidency will lead to “stronger” relations with both the US and ex-Soviet countries, including those in central Asia.

“It is  important we bring these countries closer to Europe,” she said.

“This is our first EU presidency compared with, say, France’s 12th but I can assure you we will be dedicated to our role. I also hope that we will be prepared for the unexpected – a task facing every EU presidency,” said Vicenova, the first woman in the post.

The event was organised by the European Policy Centre, a leading Brussels-based think tank.

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