EU Treaty: Czechs send backup Presidency plans

The Czech government yesterday (2 June) sent out its programme for the EU presidency starting in January 2009 in two versions in case not all countries ratify the Lisbon Treaty by the end of the year.

The Czech Republic wants to be prepared for an EU without the Lisbon Treaty due to the situation in Ireland, where its approval in a referendum on 12 June is uncertain. 

“We are also sending a reserve alternative in the event the treaty is not valid,” Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Alexandr Vondra told journalists in Prague, according to the Czech agency ?TK. 

The Czech Republic has yet to approve the Lisbon Treaty. On the initiative of the governing eurosceptic Civic Democratic Party (ODS), the Senate has asked the Constitutional Court to examine whether the treaty is consistent with the constitution.

Vondra also voiced specific concerns regarding his country’s EU presidency if the treaty comes into force in 2009 as planned. “There must still be a role for the prime minister of the presiding country,” Vondra said, referring to the Treaty’s creation of a new position of permanent president to chair EU Council meetings. 

If the Lisbon Treaty is ratified by all countries on time, the Czech Republic may be the first to experiment with “cohabitation” between the future permanent president of the Council and the head of state or government of the country holding the rotating EU presidency. Up till now, the division of roles and responsibilities between the two has remained unclear. 

But according to Vondra, it is crucial for the Czech Republic to look for a balance between roles assigned to EU countries, existing institutions and newly created officials. 

The Czech Deputy Prime Minister also voiced his views on the profile of the future ‘Mr. Europe’ role. “The future permanent chairman of the European Council should not be any European president,” Vondra said. “If anything, he should fulfill the role of a moderator of a discussion, not of a steam roller who would crush the rest by his body or force of his ideas,” Vondra said, adding that no specific names had been mentioned. 

A low-profile president acting as a moderator rather than a leader is generally the preferred profile of those opposed to a more federalist EU. 

Last week, the Czech Republic, France and Sweden submitted a joint 18-month programme for the EU presidency, with energy security and the climate as the top priorities. 

The programme with 17 chapters will be a reference document for the three consecutive six-month presidencies to be held by Paris, Prague and Stockholm over the next year and a half. The spokesperson of the Deputy Prime Minister told EURACTIV that the document will be made public next week, after June 16.

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