Czech Republic

On 1 July 2022, the Czech Republic took over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for six months. Our office Directors in Brussels and Prague, Eva van de Rakt and Adéla Jurečková, analyse the priorities of and challenges facing the Czech EU Council Presidency.

Russia’s aggression threatens not just those states it sees as its enemies. It also threatens our life in peace, the guarantee of civic and human rights, freedom and democracy. None of these can be taken for granted, as Russia’s war is being waged against the very principles that lie at the heart of our community, writes Czechia's Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský.

What longer-term, environmentally sustainable measures can the Czech Republic introduce to break its dependence on Russian gas while ensuring that no one is left behind?

Since the start of Russia's war against Ukraine on 24 February 2022, three and a half million people have fled the country. A conversation with Tineke Strik MEP on the triggering of the EU Temporary Protection Directive and what chances and challenges come with it.

Following the recent parliamentary elections, many Czechs celebrated the opposition parties’ victory over the business magnate and incumbent Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. However, the new center-right governing coalition must be careful not to return to the previous status quo that helped Babiš to power eight years ago.

On 22 May 2021, the Czech sociologist, feminist, former dissident and co-founder of the NGO Gender Studies Jiřina Šiklová passed away at the age of 85. We pay our respects to an impressive woman whose life and work was and remains an inspiration far beyond the Czech Republic.

While many European countries are phasing out nuclear energy, either for political or economic reasons, Czechia is hoping to go in the opposite direction. Nuclear reactors are proclaimed – and also perceived by much of society – to be a clean and safe source of energy. How did this come about?

In Czechia, debates about the EU's New Pact focus only on border protection, return and detention, rather than discussing more relevant proposals on legal migration, integration and inclusion.

As 2020 opens with dramatic global events demanding attention and care, the countries of the European Union remain divided on crucial issues from climate change to foreign policy. The relationship between Germany and the countries of Central Europe is pivotal to many of these impasses.