Czechia’s Prime Minister Petr Fiala presented his priorities for his term as the president of the European Union in the EU Parliament on July 6th.
Under the theme “Europe as a Task,” inspired in an essay by communist resistance leader and first Czeche prime minister, Václav Klaus, Fiala started his six-month stint as the EU’s top leader at the beginning of July, following the French presidency, presided over by President Emmanuel Macron.
Fiala, born in Brno in 1964, was part of the communist resistance, during the Czechoslovakian communist regime. He started his career as a political scientist in academia and journalism before going into politics himself in 2011. A centre-right conservative, he won the office of prime minister in 2021.
In his speech he outlined five priorities for his leadership at the EU’s helm, largely based on defence and economic security.
His first concern, he said, was addressing the war in Ukraine.
He noted that the Russian invasion had spurred the biggest refugee wave since the Second World War, with Czechia as one of the countries receiving a large influx of refugees, now amounting to 3.5% of the country’s population. He promised his “maximum support” to member states “in coping with the consequences of the migration wave.”
He also pledged his support to defend Ukraine, citing Czechia’s own experience with “Russian imperialism.”
“The Czech Republic is therefore convinced that the EU’s political and military support for Ukraine is in the vital interest of the entire Union, with fundamental implications for the future of the continent,” he said. “For this reason, the Czech presidency will consistently defend and support Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, using all the instruments at the EU’s disposal.”
He also praised the EU for granting candidate status to Ukraine and said the EU must play a “fundamental role” in its reconstruction, from helping to rebuild infrastructure and basic services to reconstruction of the economy.
He said the EU must play a “fundamental role” in the reconstruction of Ukraine, from helping to rebuild infrastructure and basic services to reconstructing the economy.
“Ukraine’s road to the EU will be a long one, but we must work together to make it a success and strengthen the European Union.”
Second on his list of priorities was energy independence.
“The current crisis has fully revealed how existentially important it is for the future of the EU to ensure its independence from countries that threaten our security,” he said. “We are, of course, talking about Russian gas, oil, and coal.”
To lessen Europe’s dependence for energy on outside countries, he said that his presidency would focus on “common European projects that free us from our dependence on Russia,” including “coordinating gas stocks ahead of winter” and promoting “voluntary joint purchasing,” using the model developed during the COVID-19 crisis.
Václav Klaus also included mutual assistance among EU states as a tool for energy security.
“We should always bear in mind that we may find ourselves in a situation where solidarity among member states is needed more than ever,” he said.
Third, he laid out his hopes for strengthening the EU’s defence capabilities and cyber security, based leaning into NATO as “a natural partner” and bolstering the military capabilities of individual member states. He was also immediately concerned with “the replenishment of military depots” where countries have supplied arms and equipment to Ukraine.
Klaus wants to see Europe further develop its own defence industry, “including investments in reducing technological dependence on untrustworthy countries.”
Long term, he said, he wanted to work for EU joint purchases of military equipment.
Fourth, he pledged to improve the economy, with a focus on solving the supply chain issues that developed during the first days of the pandemic.
“We need to better understand the supply chains that are the backbone of our economy and, ideally, shorten them as much as possible,” he said. “Only in this way can we ensure that the availability of strategic raw materials and parts is always a certainty.”
He cited free trade with “partners who share our values” as key to his strategy. He considered digitisation and automation in industry important to economic growth. Finally, he promised to strengthen democracy.
“Our societies are constantly under attack from those who resent our values, who resent freedom and democracy, human rights, and the rule of law,” he said.
Klaus concluded by acknowledging that six months is a short time to accomplish such large projects, but he said, “I believe that we will be able to deliver on our promises.”
