News Analysis

The unity of Europe under a Czech EU presidency was in question from the beginning, from early whispers by France that the Czech Republic was not up to the task to divisive rhetoric by President Václav Klaus.

Two months into the presidency, divisions have been exacerbated by international economic crisis and a still-assertive France, the preceding EU president.

While the informal economic summit in Brussels March 1 produced "mixed results," said Sebastian Kurpas with the Center for European Policy Studies in Brussels, the events leading up to the event were emblematic of current European infighting, with France playing a leading role.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy angered Czech leaders and triggered accusations of French protectionist economic policy with a statement in early February that a Peugeot-Citroen plant in Kolín was stealing jobs from France as he pushed for a 6 billion euro bailout plan for French automakers. In the following days, he pushed for an economic summit of the 16-member eurozone rather than a full 27 member state meeting. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is said to have vetoed Sarkozy’s proposal in support of the Czech summit plan.

"It undermines the very substance of what the EU is about," Kurpas said of Sarkozy’s economic oratory, calling it a "dangerous approach."

For his part, Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek touted the March 1 summit as a rejection of economic protectionism. The issue is seen by many as illustrative of a fundamental divide in economic orientation with the potential to further split Europe in coming months.

"France has been opposed to liberal economic reforms for decades," said Jan Karlas with the Prague Institute of International Relations. "There is a gap between the two countries."

Sarkozy’s recent outspokenness is seen as further exacerbating already-tense personal relations with Merkel, who oversees Europe’s largest economy. "She sees him as reckless; he sees her as too cautious, a bit too Eastern, to put it bluntly," said one Brussels insider.

"The style of the French has not always been to the taste of the Germans," Kurpas said.

Many see Sarkozy’s recent statements on the economy and consistent forays into the international arena as an attempt to combat flagging approval ratings at home, now at 36 percent. But the Czechs continue to interpret his actions as a concerted effort to marginalize their presidency. One high-level Czech official, speaking off the record, went as far as to accuse the French government and media of collaborating on a campaign against the Czech EU presidency.

Europe abroad

Even as Sarkozy’s economic bombast is seen as unproductive, the French appear to be playing a constructive role in brokering peace in the Middle East, filling a void the Czech EU presidency cannot.

"The Czech presidency fulfills its formal role. It takes care of everyday things; it does not have the resources or influence," Kurpas said. "Its only credit is that it is presiding over the EU."

Foreign Affairs Minister Karel Schwarzenberg and his French counterpart, Bernard Kouchner, are said to be in contact twice a week, and events since the beginning of the year show the French are leading European efforts in the Middle East.

The Gaza crisis in December and January bridged the French and Czech presidencies and the initial European response - made even less effective by a lame duck administration in the U.S. White House - was chaotic.

The Czechs immediately made a public relations blunder, calling the Israeli offensive in Gaza "an act of self-defense." This confirmed suspicions among other member states about Czech competency and emphasized what is widely perceived to be a more pro-Israeli Czech position as compared with elsewhere in Europe.

Next, EU officials, along with the Troika group of Schwarzenberg, Kouchner and Swedish Foreign Minister Karl Bildt, visited the region. At the same time, Sarkozy was meeting on his own with many of the same Middle East leaders before visiting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek. Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was leading his own mission, and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair was also meeting with Mubarak.

A summit meeting Jan. 18 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, which pledged European commitment to monitor weapons smuggling into Gaza, was co-chaired by Merkel and Sarkozy, not the Czech presidency.

"There is supposed to be some EU institutional machinery," said Richard Weitz with the Washington, D.C.-based Hudson Institute. "It is probable that others did not see the Czechs as a fair representation of European opinion."

Before Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas visited Prague Feb. 23, he canceled an originally scheduled Feb. 2 visit, saying that he needed to attend urgent negotiations in Cairo. However, he met Sarkozy in Paris that same day.

President Barack Obama’s Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, was also in Paris at the time, lunching with Kouchner. Mitchell had met with Abbas a week earlier. On Feb. 25, Mitchell was back in Paris meeting with Sarkozy. French officials and Schwarzenberg were at a donor conference March 2 in Sharm el-Sheikh with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

"France is filling a void," Kurpas said.

Trouble to start

While the Franco-Czech divide is mainly rooted in practical policy disagreements, several underlying conditions weakened the Czechs as they took up the presidency. Domestic political troubles, including a trouncing in fall regional elections made Topolánek’s Civic Democrat-led government appear weak. "People thought Prague might have to concentrate on its own internal affairs," Kurpas said.

This initial skepticism was amplified by several statements from Klaus, who downplayed the importance of the EU presidency. "You are playing into the hands of others when you say such things," Kurpas said. "Other countries have an interest in utilizing a vacuum, which the president invited."

The very mottos of the preceding French presidency and the current Czech leadership seem to point to a divide. The French motto was "Europe that protects," while the Czech is "Europe without barriers."

"The Czech and French agendas probably overlap less programmatically speaking than most others would," Kurpas said.

Further crippling is that the Czech presidency marks the end of the EU parliamentary session, followed by June elections. The European Commission’s five-year term also ends in October, creating weak institutions in Brussels for the second half of the Czech presidency.

"Everybody knew this was going to happen. It’s not the Czechs’ fault," Kurpas said, leading to the question of how the Czech presidency is being judged.

"The jury is still out."

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