Ukraine was in priority of Czech presidency of EU

Baku/23.12.22/Turan: The Czech government has distributed an Overview of the implementation of the main policy  priorities of the Czech presidency  (CZ PRES)  in the EU-2022.

Note that the Czech Republic assumed the presidency of the EU Council on July 1, 2022 from France and will pass the baton to Sweden on January 1.

The review shows that in reality Prague paid special attention to the situation around Russia's aggression against Ukraine, as  was stated during the Czech Republic's accession to the presidency.

"The Czech Republic has been actively working to weaken the Russian aggressor by adopting three sets of sanctions and a number of other measures, such as limiting prices for Russian oil or suspending the simplification of the visa regime, so that it could not benefit from the illegally unleashed war. On the other hand, the presidency focused on strengthening Ukraine through financial support for the functioning of the state (6 billion Euros for 2022 and another 18 billion Euros promised for 2023) and on strengthening the defense capability of its armed forces (1 billion Euros)," the report says.

The compilers of the review note that the Russian aggression once again strongly reminded that the long-term prosperity and stability of Europe are based on functioning democratic mechanisms. Thus, the Czech presidency focused on strengthening the sustainability of institutions that have a decisive impact on the maintenance and development of the values of democracy and the rule of law in the EU.

The second most important issue of the presidency' actions is energy security. During the presidency, the energy ministers met eight times and five extraordinary Council meetings were convened. 

During these meetings, the mechanism for reducing gas consumption; solutions to rising energy prices; a platform for joint purchases to strengthen solidarity, further reduce gas consumption; measures against high energy prices in terms of dynamic restrictions on natural gas prices were successfully considered; a proposal to speed up the process of issuing permits for the construction of renewable energy sources; and a mechanism for correcting the gas market.

An emphasis was laid on hybrid threats. The Czech presidency has successfully ensured the strengthening of the security of ICT supply chains and a high overall level of cybersecurity in EU organizations and the financial sector through the Regulation of Digital Operational Sustainability (DORA). 

Also, a coordinated joint response to hybrid threats, including information manipulation and the EU's response to hybrid campaigns, was duly ensured.

Cooperation with third countries has also been established, which will now be determined by conclusions of the Sustainable Development Council in EU trade agreements, which will be crucial for the sustainability of the European economy. Besides, it will also protect EU member-states from economic pressures from third countries.

The EU Council has concluded that it is necessary to use a proactive response to crises. "Environmental degradation and climate change, Russia's offensive war against Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic highlight the interconnected and systemic nature of the current risks, as well as their potential to escalate into domino-effect disasters."—0—