The European Union is undergoing self-reflection and changing in the right way, notably when it comes to security, Prime Minister Petr Fiala told the Czech press on Wednesday.
In an interview for the Czech News Agency (CTK), Fiala recalled his book from 2015, in which he warned against the “carelessness” of the EU in key topics, such as security.
“Today, I can see that this carelessness has been abandoned,” Fiala, a political scientist focusing on EU politics, said.
“The European Union is thinking a lot more of security. The countries are prepared to spend more on its defence, coordinate it more, and they are much more intensively pondering security in the spheres of energy and strategic materials,” Fiala added.
The six-month rotating EU Council presidency recently came to an end for the Czech Republic, with highlights being the conclusions of agreements to further support Ukraine, the gas price correction mechanism and the climate files of the Fit for 55 package.
It is important that the debate on environmental targets has been “rationalised” and that the situation in individual countries and their energy market is being taken into account more, said Fiala, citing the inclusion of nuclear in the EU taxonomy as an example.
“For environmental targets that have actually been decided, and we have just been somehow bringing them to a conclusion during the presidency, we have often managed to rationalise them or agree that they will be reassessed over time to see if they are really achievable and realistic, rather than causing problems for Europe,” Fiala explained.
Moreover, Fiala is convinced that EU countries are listening to each other more, which he considers “very important for the future of the EU”.
(Aneta Zachová | EURACTIV.cz)
Source: euractiv.com
