He picks up on the testimony of France and places the consequences of the war and the refugee crisis as one of his main priorities
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and her cabinet traveled to the Czech Republic this Friday to mark the change of Presidency of the Council of the European Union. In the Litomysl Castle, 160 kilometers from Prague, the Czech Prime Minister, Petr Fiala, was waiting for them in the rain. Your country is taking the European presidency at a delicate moment, with an open war in Europe and the need to resolve its humanitarian, political and economic consequences.
The conflict in Ukraine broke out at the end of February, when France had just assumed the presidency of the European Council. The Russian invasion has blown up France’s European policy ambitions for the semester. At the time, however, the Twenty-seven reacted quickly by imposing seven rounds of sanctions on Moscow and devising a roadmap to reduce its energy dependency.
“Europe is currently facing many problems and challenges, but if we act with unity and determination, we will emerge stronger and more resilient from these crises,” the Czech Prime Minister said in June, stressing the importance of supporting the Ukrainian people. And that was the message that was also imposed yesterday, when he picked up the witness.
Representatives of the Congress and Senate of the Czech Republic met with members of the Community Board to discuss the priorities of the Czech Presidency. Under the motto ‘Europe as a task: rethink, rebuild, revitalize’, the country wants to strengthen the bloc’s freedom, responsibility, security and prosperity.
Managing the refugee crisis will undoubtedly be one of the main challenges of the Czech Presidency. More than five million people have fled Ukraine to EU countries since the start of the war. As set out by the Czech Minister for Regional Development, Ivan Bartos, one of the areas of work will be facilitating the access of regions and cities to European funding so that they receive the necessary support to host Ukrainian refugees.
European energy security is one of the major challenges in the short and long term, and also one of the priorities of the presidency this semester. With the REPowerEU program as a roadmap – which envisages an investment of €300,000 million – and after reaching several agreements with the United States and other major liquefied natural gas producers, the European Union must continue to diversify its sources and reduce its energy consumption. “It is the most urgent matter,” emphasized von der Leyen in Litomsyl.
With the high energy price, due to the increase in gas, from Prague they will also have to deal with the demand from certain European countries to impose a cap on the gas price and carry out a reform of the European energy market .
On the security front, the Czech Republic wants to strengthen European defense capabilities against hybrid threats and curb disinformation campaigns, a tactic that Russia uses all too often. And of course it will have to do with reconstruction after the pandemic, with the deployment of Next Generation funds and the necessary reforms and investments in the Member States.
Source: La Verdad
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
