Meetings of ministers, where not even an assistant is allowed. “Informals” in Prague determine the direction of the EU
It’s a sensitive topic, but it still needs to be talked about. Europe needs to rebuild its stockpile of military equipment and could do it together, in harmony.
The Czechia would be in favor, as the deputy of the domestic Ministry of Defense Daniel Blažkovec indicated. According to the department, the Czechia provided military equipment worth 3.8 billion crowns to Ukraine, most of which will be reimbursed by the EU. It’s a bargain – the arsenal of countries in Eastern Europe, including the Czech Republic, was no longer obsolete.
More advantageous purchases of new weapons from European manufacturers, including Czech ones, could be arranged by the European Union, in cooperation with the North Atlantic Alliance. The European Commission wants to set up a special fund for joint arming of the armies and pour several million euros into it right away.
Without the agreement of the member countries, however, the Commission cannot do anything. That is why this new platform was also discussed at the Prague meeting at the end of August by the ministers of defense of the EU countries. No specific agreement was reached, but similar informal meetings are still indispensable for the functioning of the Union.
The member states can exchange opinions on topics that may not normally be on the agenda – precisely because they are very sensitive and there is a need to establish a national government.
Inviting 26 colleagues from all other EU states to “home” is the privilege of the country that presides over the ministerial meetings, the so-called Council of the EU. Until the end of this year, it is the Czechia, so politicians meet in Prague.
When a minister – in this case the Ministry of Defense Jana Černochová for the ODS – is a skilled diplomat, he can use the meeting to “push” others on a topic that is important for his or her own country. The Czech Ministry of Defense can actually prepare the conditions for a formal discussion of a specific matter later. Another sensitive item on the agenda for the Ministry of Defense was the future of the European training mission in Mali, Africa. The Czech army is leading here now.
A bureaucrat can do nothing without a minister
In addition to the Ministry of Defense, heads of departments abroad also met in Prague in August. They agreed to suspend the agreement, which until now allowed Russians to get visas faster and cheaper. At the same time, this particular topic is so sensitive that not even the closest associates of the ministers could attend the meeting, as is otherwise common. The Czech position was therefore led by solo minister Jan Lipavský (Pirates).
There will be several more informal “ministries” in Prague until the end of the year, this week the ministers of finance will take turns here. Even in this case, it is not possible to wait for an official decision. Topics on which representatives of individual national governments will agree, but with a high probability, rapid deployment at the pan-European level awaits. The joint government of the member countries is in European politics.
Despite this, these meetings are completely uninteresting to the Czech public. “About half of the Czechs do not perceive them at all, even though they embody exactly what the public wants from the EU: for it to be a community of states in which all countries have the same voice,” says Nikola Hořejš, an analyst at the STEM Institute of Sociology.
In addition, Czechs do not even realize how much influence Czech ministers have in the EU. According to sociological data, 60 percent of society does not even know that government politicians in the EU represent us even at formal meetings. Without their joint consent, practically nothing is decided in the EU. “It used to be that ministers didn’t even talk about it publicly. Nobody wants to defend a compromise of 27 countries. As a result, it gives the impression that some nameless bureaucrat or other states are making decisions for us in the EU,” says Hořejš.
“Precisely because the presiding countries have an influence on such meetings, politicians should make more use of it and clarify their meaning to the people. In this way, the only impression left is that a delegation came to Prague again and blocked the way to the airport,” concludes the sociologist.
What do Czechs not know about the European Union?The events in Europe are probably very universally interested 40 percent Only a tenth of Czechs follow him closely. More than half society does not know that it is the Czech prime minister and ministers who represent the Czech Republic at the meetings of the Council of the European Union and thus co-decide on proposals that affect the lives of Europeans. More than third the public does not know that the Czech authorities decide where the European money will ultimately flow. They are the ones who distribute the subsidies. 40 percent people do not know that in all key areas such as foreign policy, security or taxes, each of the 27 EU states has the right of veto. If the member countries do not agree, the proposal cannot pass. In the series, we focus on these “question marks”. |