Mr. Filip Vurm:

I thank the Chair. Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you very much for inviting me to this committee session. It is a great honour and pleasure for me to be here and to be able to present the priorities of the Czech Presidency for the second semester this year. I convey apologies on behalf of the ambassador, H.E. Petr Kynštetr, for not being able to attend this meeting due to urgent travel to the Czech Republic.

In 1996 when the Czech President, Václav Havel, considered the future of our Continent in his speech at the Charlemagne prize ceremonial entitled, "Europe as a Task", he stressed that the tasks ahead of Europe deserved careful and thorough reflection. In the international context of the time, particularly favourable to western democracies, Havel called on Europeans to rediscover their conscience and to take responsibility for global environmental, social and economic challenges. He did not want Europe to reclaim the position of a “global head of orchestra” and to impose its cultural values on the rest of the world. What he had in mind was rather to inspire and to lead by example.

The brutal war and aggression beyond the eastern borders of our community has clearly shown us we will have to find the courage to re-evaluate many of our current approaches and premises. We, therefore, perceive the Havel slogan “Europe as a Task”, chosen by the Czech Republic as the motto of its Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2022, not only as an opportunity to reflect together, but above all, as a call for accountability and determined action based on our values. If we want to live up to the expectations of this historical moment, our triple challenge is to rethink, rebuild and repower Europe.

On 14 December 2021, the General Affairs Council endorsed the trio programme of three consecutive presidencies: France, Czech Republic and Sweden. The trio programme was developed at a time when the major challenge for the EU was the post-pandemic recovery. It has, therefore, been focused on protecting citizens and freedoms; developing the European economic model; building a climate-neutral, green, fair and social Europe; and promoting Europe's interest and values in the world.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has brought forward the necessity of a fundamental reassessment of the EU priorities and significantly influenced the preparation of the Czech Presidency's priorities. The Czech Presidency will address urgent security issues by carrying on with the originally identified files such as the green and digital transition of the EU economy.

The political priorities of the Czech Presidency are divided into five cross-sectoral flagship areas, aiming to respond to crime challenges as well as pursuing the EU's long-term objectives. The first is to manage the refugee crisis and the post-war recovery of Ukraine. The Czech Presidency will support the EU’s efforts to defend Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity by using all instruments and programmes offered by the EU, including the strengthening of sanctions. It will also promote EU solidarity, efficiency and flexibility in managing the migration-related issues and it will support Ukraine on its European pass after receiving candidate status. It will also contribute to Ukraine's economic recovery and stability. The second relates to energy security. The Czech Presidency will focus on reducing energy dependency on authoritarian regimes, such as Russia; diversifying resources through the REPowerEU energy plan; and mitigating the negative social and economic impacts on high energy prices. The third is the reinforcement of European defence capabilities, including cybersecurity. The Czech Presidency will promote the security and defence co-operation with NATO, implementing the strategic compass, enhancing better intra-EU co-operation and strengthening the EU's industrial strategies in strategic areas. Strategic resilience of the European economy is the forth area of focus. The Czech Presidency will focus on reducing dependence on hostile regimes, strengthen self-sufficiency and deepen the internal market of democratic states. It will also focus on accelerating digitalisation and adapting free market rules to these developments. The fifth is the resilience of democratic institutions. The Czech Presidency will focus on safeguarding values of democracy and the rule of law, media freedom, transparency, open dialogue with citizens, including the follow up to the Conference on the Future of Europe, in online and offline spaces.

I thank the members for their attention and I am happy to take questions.