Foreign Relations

The current foreign relations agenda at the MoE is dominated by the preparations for the Czech Presidency over the Council of the European Union to extend from 1 January to 30 June 2009. The European Union Department is the principal co-ordinator of the preparations, but the majority of the Ministry’s departments are more or less involved in the presidency issues.

Above all, the EU Presidency means presiding over the numerous meetings of representatives of the 27 EU Member State governments, ranging from ordinary officials to ministers, and representing the Council of the European Union outwards, particularly towards the European Commission and the European Parliament. The primary objective of the Presidency is to guarantee the approval of new legislation and strategic documents by all the 27 Member States.

The main priorities of the Czech Presidency will include climate protection, reduction of industrial emissions, sustainable consumption and production, and biodiversity protection. We are closely working on their elaboration and implementation together with France and Sweden, whose presidencies precede and follow the Czech Republic’s, in order to maintain a continuity of the negotiations.

The Czech Republic is also going to represent the Union towards international partners. In the environmental area, this means mainly acting on behalf of the EU at conferences of parties to international treaties and conferences of international organisations. This requires preparatory co-ordination meetings of the EU Member States as well as numerous bilateral contacts with key global partners.

Besides presidency issues, the MoE maintains bilateral co-operation with many countries. The most intensive relations are maintained with Germany, Austria, France and the Visegrad Countries. We are also extending our co-operation with non-EU countries, partly connected with the implementation of development assistance projects in those countries. Collaboration among experts is highly developed and mutual experience exchange takes place.