Zelensky unlikely to attend Prague EU summit, says Czech Europe minister

Czechia’s Minister for European Affairs Mikuláš Bek said on Friday that he doesn’t expect Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky will attend the planned October EU summit in Prague. According to Mr Bek, the Ukrainian president will not leave his country until Russia’s invasion comes to an end. Many Czech politicians had hoped that Zelensky would be able to make it to the summit, although they were aware this depended on how the conflict evolves.

Speaking ahead of the General Affairs Council meeting that is set to take place in Brussels next week, Czechia’s Europe minister also said that his country chose its EU presidency priorities well, especially the main two focuses that are concerned with energy security and the war in Ukraine.

The EU summit in Prague will run from the 6th to the 7th of October. It is set to focus on closer cooperation between the EU and non-member states.

Czechia is presiding over the Council of the European Union until the end of 2022.