Government presents logo, motto and priorities of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU

The Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU will have five main priorities, starting on 1 July and lasting until the end of the year. The Czech Presidency programme and its priorities were approved by the Government at a meeting on Wednesday 15 June 2022 and presented to the public together with the Czech Presidency logo.

The Czech Republic will focus on five key priorities during its six-month Presidency of the Council of the EU: managing the refugee crisis and post-war reconstruction in Ukraine, energy security, strengthening European defence capabilities and cyber security, strategic resilience of the European economy and the resilience of democratic institutions.

"All these pillars encompass the long-term strategic interests and priorities of the Czech Republic. Values that the Czech Republic has long stood for and is proud of. And these values are reflected in the priorities of our Presidency. Together with our European partners, we will strive during our six months heading the European Union to be stronger together and to use our strength for the benefit of those who need it," Prime Minister Petr Fiala said.

Prime Minister Fiala also recalled that this year marks 18 years since the Czech Republic joined the European Union. "On the first of July we will enter our historic second Presidency of the Council of the European Union. So we can say with a bit of exaggeration that it will be a bit of a maturity test. A test that will by no means be easy. Europe, and with it the whole world, is undergoing a fundamental change as the Russian invasion of Ukraine has shaken many of our certainties. It has certainly exposed the weaknesses of Europe's security architecture, which we will have to grasp anew, and we will have to develop it actively, not just as observers relying on others," he said.

The Prime Minister also recalled the extraordinary refugee wave triggered by the Russian aggression in Ukraine. "We must make every effort to focus on Ukraine's post-war reconstruction and help Ukraine on its path to the European Union," Prime Minister Fiala said. "But Russian aggression has also undermined the basic pillars of our economy. Energy security, supply chains, at a time when we have literally started to breathe again after covid-19. It is, therefore, our fundamental duty to ensure Europe's strategic resilience in all these areas. For example, food security for citizens should remain a certainty. Availability of strategic materials and products, such as medicines and other items," he noted.

"We can say that the world will not be the same after the Russian aggression in Ukraine. We want to play an active role in shaping it, because we have a unique chance and opportunity to write the future of Europe. However, our role will be different from that of the first Presidency, which took place before the Lisbon Treaty entered into force. Some mechanisms of the European Union have undergone changes and we are of course aware of this," the Prime Minister recalled. "But our role in leading the work of the individual ministerial councils will be crucial. We are aware of that too. The task of the Czech Presidency will be primarily to achieve consensus and European unity, which is so important, in individual areas," Petr Fiala recalled.

Prime Minister Fiala, together with the Minister for European Affairs Mikuláš Bek and the Head of the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic, Jana Kotalíková, presented the Czech Presidency motto, logo and two versions of the promotional video clip to the public. The motto will be Europe as a task and is inspired by the 1996 essay of the same name by former Czechoslovak and Czech President Václav Havel, in which Havel reflected on the role of Europe in the then transformed world. "We are undoubtedly facing a profound transformation of the world similar to the one that took place on the threshold of the 1990s," Minister for European Affairs Mikuláš Bek pointed out.

The logo of the Czech Presidency is designed by the Dark Side studio. The logo, a circle made up of stylised compass arrows, is intended to symbolise the union of the EU Member States. It contains 27 rosettes in the national colours of the Member States and reflects the European Union's motto United in Diversity. The EU2022.CZ is based on the logo of the first Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2009. Details of the motto and logo of the Czech Presidency can be found at https://czech-presidency.consilium.europa.eu/en/news/czech-republic-presents-the-presidencys-motto-and-logo/.