EU presidency fears allayed at meeting of Toplánek and Sarkozy

Speculation that the French intended to limit Czech powers during the country’s first EU presidency was dispelled on Friday when French President Nicolas Sarkozy played host to Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek. The two statesmen discussed ways of ensuring continued unity and a smooth handover of the presidency in January. Both expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the meeting.

Nicolas Sarkozy and Mirek Topolánek, photo: CTK

It was praise all round at the Elysée Palace on Friday afternoon when Czech PM Mirek Topolánek and his host, the French president Nicolas Sarkozy, met reporters after a working lunch. Rumours of tensions between Paris and Prague were dispelled by a public display of solidarity on all matters EU.

Mr Topolánek said that he valued greatly the work that the French had done during their time at the helm – with Paris navigating the EU through both the financial crisis and the war in Georgia.

For his part, Mr Sarkozy called the Czechs’ policy in the run up to the country’s EU presidency ‘reasonable’ and ‘pro-European’. He allayed fears that the French wanted to bypass the Czechs by beefing-up the Eurogroup – an assembly of countries using the single European currency, over which Mr Sarkozy presides, and to which the Czech Republic does not belong. No Eurogroup summits were planned during the Czechs’ EU presidency, Mr Sarkozy insisted on Friday, and should one take place, then Czech delegates would of course be invited.

Mirek Topolánek, photo: CTK

Mirek Topolánek’s Paris visit was somewhat unexpected. The Czech PM was scheduled to be in America visiting outgoing president George W. Bush. But after the meeting, Mr Topolánek said he was very happy with what had been achieved:

“Today we decided on the practical details which will ensure a smooth handover of the EU presidency from the French to the Czechs, and that is what I consider to be the major outcome of today’s meeting. And to do this we have changed some of our fundamental priorities for the presidency, as those taking over the EU before us have often had to do. The financial crisis has changed a lot and, during our presidency, we are of course going to have to implement some of the steps that have been agreed upon already by the EU’s member states.”

Prime Minister Topolánek can breathe a bit more easily now that it seems the French are off his back – and, more good news, the opposition Social Democrats appear to be as well. Party leader Jiří Paroubek has said that his party will cooperate with the government on matters pertaining to the country’s EU presidency, starting in January 2009. But, Mr Paroubek warns, he will not keep the government, tending its wounds after a recent regional-election rout, alive on a ‘life-support machine’.