What are the Czech Republic‘s priorities at the present time?

We have described our government’s priorities in our programme proclamation. To summarise, there are three main points, one of which we have already put behind us, so to speak – that of finishing the Czech Presidency honourably. We are also trying to seek responsible ways to minimise the effects of the global economic crisis on the Czech economy. Our third objective is to take the country through to the early elections that should take place in October.

How is your Government facing the effects of the worldwide crisis in the Czech Republic?

We have a series of specific steps, which the previous government initiated. So far, we have primarily approved the budget expenditure frameworks for future years, by significantly decreasing spending, to ensure that our budget does not exceed CZK 170 billion, which is approximately 5% of the gross domestic product.

In the programme proclamation, we have committed ourselves specifically to seeking to reduce the negative effects of the economic crisis on small and medium-sized enterprises, by improving access to financial resources, for example. At the same time, we will continue to implement the Plan for Reducing the Administrative Burden of Entrepreneurs. As part of the Operational Programme Enterprise and Innovation, approved for the period from 2007 until 2013, my government will ensure the highest possible utilisation of European resources, with a special emphasis on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises.

What were the main tasks of the Czech Presidency?

The Czech Presidency described its priorities, summarised in the slogan a “Europe without Barriers”, after bilateral consultation with representatives of all other Member States, as well as with the President of the European Commission and of the European Parliament, as the “Three E’s” – the Economy, Energy, and the European Union in the World. Rather than focusing on these overarching priorities, however, I would like to emphasise the specific results that we achieved at the European Council on 18 and 19 June. At the European Council, under the guidance of the Czech Presidency, the guarantees promised to Ireland were approved, making it possible to hold a new referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. Agreement was also reached, concerning the person who will lead the next European Commission, findings on climate change were approved, and a political agreement, concerning a new framework for European financial supervision, was reached.

Is your government satisfied with the results of the Czech Presidency?

The Presidency of the Czech Republic of the Council of the European Union was one of the primary priorities of my government, from the first day of its taking office. We succeeded in maintaining continuity and retaining the agreed agenda of the Presidency, a fact that was confirmed by the successful European Council, held 18 and 19 June in Brussels. Here the Czech Presidency succeeded again and, symbolically, for the final time, in bringing the EU countries to an agreement concerning each of the points of discussion: institutional reform and Irish guarantees, financial and social issues, progress in preparing the Copenhagen Conference on confronting climate change, and political support for José Manuel Barroso to be re-elected as President of the European Commission.

The success of the Presidency is naturally connected with the specific results of the various ministries, and the professionalism of the members of my government also proved to be an advantage in their meetings in the Councils of ministers.

I would like to emphasise that a significant contribution to the effective completion of the Presidency came from the strong support that we received from the European Commission and its president, José Manuel Barroso, as well as from all of my European counterparts. The Heads of State and Government expressed their support to me, even during preparatory talks at the European Council, both in person and by telephone, and the European Council expressed its willingness to cooperate with the Czech Presidency without reservation.

I am glad that we succeeded in convincing our European partners of the fact that the success of a Presidency is a collective success, and that the strength of a Presidency is not dependent on the size of the country, but on the ability to negotiate and moderate debates that are in the interest of the European Union as a whole.

As a statistician, European, and the “outgoing” Chairman of the European Council, I would, with some exaggeration, rate the success of the Czech Presidency as: “100% with a deviation of +/- 5%”.

Low voter participation was recorded in the recent European elections. Are the citizens of Europe still interested in the EU?

I am a statistician, and for a number of years I have led the Czech Statistical Office, so it is clear that a decrease in voter interest in European elections can be noted. However, I do not wish to speculate about why that may be. It is evident that a number of factors are behind the trend. Perhaps citizens do not see any specific results of the decisions in the European Union in their immediate surroundings and, as such, do not consider these elections to be significant. I will leave it to experienced politicians and specialists to evaluate why it is so, and how to react to this in the future.

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