Prague and the European Parliament are partners in these difficult times caused by the war, leading EU lawmakers and Czech leaders agreed during a meeting in the country’s capital ahead of Czechia’s six-month stint at the helm of the EU Council.
The challenges stemming from the Russian aggression in Ukraine raise the expectations for the upcoming Czech EU Presidency, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Thursday (16 June) after his Prague meeting with the European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and the leaders of the Parliament’s political groups.
He briefed them on the presidency priorities, officially presented on Wednesday (15 June). Prague will take over the rotating EU Council presidency from Paris on 1 July.
“It is crucial for us to tell each other, still before the presidency starts, what each of us expects and how we can help each other,” Fiala said, praising the ongoing help from Metsola.
Metsola said that the following months would create the future of Europe through its reactions to the brutal aggression in Ukraine and also by steps taken to tackle the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fiala said the debate with the Parliament leaders also touched on EU enlargement, mainly by the Western Balkans states, but both sides also agreed on the need to grant EU candidacy status to Ukraine.
The discussion also touched on migration, security goals, energy security, self-sufficiency, and the EU’s climate policy.
However, energy and climate policy might be areas where will the two sides clash during the upcoming six months.
Read also: Czech MEPs, business concerned over taxonomy vote
Czechia has praised the European Commission’s taxonomy rules, which give a special status to nuclear energy and gas, sources very important to Prague. However, the recent steps taken by the Parliament’s influential committees might disrupt such plans and restart the negotiations.
The other potentially hot topic is the proposed EU ban on new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle sales by 2035, pushed by the Parliament but criticised by the Czech government.
Fiala promised that Czechia would push for the rules to be eased if the French presidency was not successful in obtaining this.
Source: euractiv.com
