As the Czech Republic and its Conservative Prime Minister, Petr Fiala, prepare on Friday 1is July, to take up the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) for six months, following France, Emmanuel Macron is counting on Prague to materialize his idea of a European Political Community (EPC), intended to “bringing together partners across the continent”, beyond the EU. At the end of the last European Council, which was held in Brussels on June 23 and 24, the French President has already announced that the Czech capital will take place in October “a first meeting” of this set ranging from “Iceland to Ukraine” and which many in the East are concerned that it is in fact a substitute for an enlargement of the EU.
A fervent supporter of the entry of new members into the European arena, the Czech Republic, which was part of the group of former communist countries that joined the EU in 2004, is of some interest in reassuring the candidates. Strongly committed behind Ukraine, Prague has already announced that it would put the war and all its implications at the heart of its presidency, such as the difficulties of energy supply, the cost of hosting refugees or the reconstruction of the country.
But if Mr. Fiala has multiplied the cordial talks with Mr. Macron, he has however so far been very discreet about his intentions concerning a project which revives for many, in the region, the bad memory of the European Confederation wanted by François Mitterrand in 1989 with the aim of avoiding enlargement.
“A way to avoid enlargement”?
The Czech Prime Minister, renowned for his great prudence and his measured words, “didn’t say anything in criticism or support”, points out Peter Sokol, a political scientist close to Mr. Fiala and a member of his party, the Civic Democratic Party (ODS). But, he adds, “we fear, as Czechs, that [la CPE] either a way of avoiding an enlargement to the Balkan countries and, perhaps, to Ukraine and Moldova”. The latter two officially joined the club of official integration candidates on June 23.
More diplomatically, Mikulas Bek, the Minister for European Affairs, member of the liberal and pro-European STAN party, associated with the ruling coalition, affirms “believe his French friends when they say that [le projet] will not be a substitute for enlargement”. However, there remains very cautious about the ability of the Prague summit, scheduled for October 6 and 7, to launch this new group.
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