Low turnout at meeting of ministers confirms lame duck nature of Czech EU presidency since fall of government
If there were any doubts that the Czech Republic’s presidency of the EU effectively ended when the country’s government fell last month, they were dispelled on Thursday, when only a handful of the bloc’s regional development ministers came to a Czech-hosted meeting. On top of that, the creator of a controversial sculpture in Brussels says he will remove it before the Czech presidency ends, in protest at the toppling of the government at such an important time.
However, most observers insisted the fall of the government meant the Czech Republic’s EU presidency was to all intents and purposes dead in the water.
Confirmation of that assertion came on Thursday, when only seven of the 26 invited EU regional development ministers turned up for an informal meeting in Mariánské Lázně. Though informal, such gatherings are normally attended by ministers.
Czech Regional Development Minister Cyril Svoboda, hosting the two-day meeting, admitted the low turnout was partly due to the “drama” of the Czech government being voted out of office. Everybody in Europe knows, he said, that the country’s cabinet is in resignation.
On top of that embarrassment, the creator of a controversial government commissioned sculpture that has been one of the most reported on aspects of the Czech presidency says he will remove it from an EU building in Brussels nearly two months earlier than originally planned.
David Černý says he will take down Entropa – which pokes fun at European stereotypes – by May 10, when a caretaker cabinet should be in place in Prague.
The artist told reporters on Thursday the move was a “civic gesture” in protest at what he called the “international disgrace” of the Czech government being brought down at such an important time; for that Mr Černý blamed the left-wing parties who voted the cabinet out, and President Václav Klaus, who critics say engineered its fall.
