Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 16: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the implications the no confidence vote in the Czech Prime Minister Mr. Topolanek has for the Presidency of the European Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14688/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The coalition government led by Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek lost a vote of confidence in the Czech Parliament on 24 March, resulting in the automatic resignation of the Prime Minister, who continued in a caretaker capacity, pending the appointment of a Prime Minister by President Klaus. Negotiations between the two government parties and the Social Democrats, led by Mr. Jirí Paroubek, have led to agreement that the current head of the Czech Statistical Office, Jan Fischer, will lead the interim government to rule from 10 May until early elections, set for 9 and 10 October.

In the meantime, the business of the European Union has continued, with Mr. Topolánek representing the EU at the G20 meeting in London on 2 April and the EU-US Summit in Prague on 5 April. Council meetings chaired by the responsible Czech Ministers have also continued and I expect that the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 2 7 April will conduct its business as usual under the able chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister Vondra and Foreign Minister Schwarzenberg..

A change of government during an EU Presidency has occurred in the past (for example during the Danish Presidencies of 1982 and 1993, the French Presidency of 1995, the Italian Presidency of 1996 for example), but the uncertainty which arises is clearly not the optimal situation. Indeed Deputy Prime Minister Vondra has himself suggested that while the first three months of the Czech EU presidency were proof that small countries can lead the EU, the fall of the Czech government is an argument for bringing an end to the practice of a rotating EU presidency, something that is foreseen in the Lisbon Treaty.