More than seven years after entering the European Union, Czech influence in Brussels remains very small. Why is this so? The answer is depressing, but straight-forward: Since May 2004, Czech diplomats and politicians have been attempting to represent the interests of the country in Brussels without having a clear idea of what the Czech interests in the EU really are.
Since 2004, successive Czech governments have lacked the will to create an independent concept of Czech EU policy that clearly defines the country’s priorities in the union. Experts on EU politics largely agree that in the “post-Lisbon Treaty” EU, the key to success is to focus on several priorities in negotiations in Brussels, carefully explain those priorities to other member states, and seek allies to get them implemented.
However, Czech diplomats in Brussels are often not able to clearly say “yes” or “no” and instead wait to see how the other EU member states decide. This is due to a lack of vision. And if the Czech Republic does communicate something clearly, it’s typically criticism of others.
Now more than ever the Czech Republic needs to clearly define what it wants from the EUWe often hear from Czech euroskeptic circles that this is a small country and Brussels will take us over, but no one explains how this will happen or what the alternatives are. Countries of a similar size can of course assert their influence in Brussels; Sweden (with a slightly smaller population), Denmark and Finland (both smaller) have proved this on numerous occasions. It’s necessary, however, to play the Brussels game and not just sit back and observe; to simply call for a pragmatic approach and not to endanger competitiveness is not sufficient.
Strategy shelved
There is no doubt that the current eurozone debt crisis is threatening the foundations of the EU and that it will have a significant impact on the Czech Republic. Therefore, surely now more than ever the country needs to clearly define what it wants from the EU. Should the union as a whole integrate further, or should a core of countries with the euro be formed? And if such a core does emerge, do we want to be in it or on the periphery?
This February, Prime Minister Petr Nečas (Civic Democrats, ODS) called for pursuing a proactive policy towards the EU, and the government promised to produce a conceptual plan for the country’s EU policy, but has still failed to deliver: That strategy plan is now lying on a government shelf somewhere, so why does the government not want to present it?
Following the controversial naming of Vojtěch Belling as State Secretary for EU Affairs in the absence of TOP 09, the second-largest of the three parties in the ruling coalition government (ODS–TOP 09–Public Affairs, VV), the Czech Republic should have a “guarantor” directly accountable to the prime minister to represent the country’s EU line. So far, however, Belling has proved nothing. All that followed was a war of words between the Government Office and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Karel Schwarzenberg (the TOP 09 chairman), who responded by appointing Jiří Schneider as an alternative state secretary for EU affairs.
And in at this dramatic time for the EU, what do the two Czech state secretaries for EU affairs say at EU-level negotiations? Do they communicate what the relevant ministries say, or do they rewrite their positions? We simply don’t know. In the Czech Republic there is a conspicuous silence about EU politics, which for a long time now are to a large extent tantamount to domestic policies.
Unwillingness to speak about significance of Brussels
There are two main reasons for the Czech Republic’s limited influence in the EU: 1) a lack of interest by the political elite, and 2) an insufficient coordination and often a lack of knowledge about EU issues by officials in ministries. Also, the government doesn’t attempt to motivate highly placed Czech officials in EU institutions to cooperate, or to promote the nomination of Czech candidates for EU posts.
It is difficult to successfully promote positions towards EU policies if no political tasks are setEU issues are not key to winning elections in the Czech Republic — and this may be the main reason why Czech politicians show so little interest. With the exception of the main opposition center-left Social Democrats (ČSSD), there was hardly any mention of the EU in the campaigns ahead of the parliamentary elections in 2010.
When EU issues are discussed within parties, discussions are usually limited to expert commissions for foreign policy, as is the case in the ČSSD and TOP 09. But for the most part, EU politics for a long time now have not been about foreign policy, but domestic issues such as environmental protection rules and standards, or agricultural policy.
The Czech political parties haven’t created clear political goals for EU negotiations, thus it is difficult to successfully promote positions towards EU policies if no political tasks are set. As such, the civil servants who prepare framework positions and instructions for negotiations in working groups of the EU Commission have great difficulty trying to come up with generalized and empty formulas which Czech diplomats in Brussels have to explain according to their judgment, and the mood and atmosphere in negotiations.
Coordination of Czech EU policy undermined
The Lisbon Treaty has laid more responsibilities upon the state administrations of EU member states, and now is the time when in capitals across Europe it’s necessary to figure out how to implement the provisions of the treaty in national legislation.
The Czech Republic has two teams — one in the Government Office, the other in the Foreign Ministry — duplicating the same efforts and same work to fulfill a nonexistent task. Following the departure of Alexandr Vondra (ODS) as deputy prime minister for EU affairs, the EU affairs section in the Government Office was preserved, and now monitors the individual ministries’ dealings on the EU level, and continues to battle with the Foreign Ministry, which controls the brain of Czech EU politics: the Czech diplomatic representation in Brussels, comprised of diplomats who negotiate within the EU framework on a daily basis and have a good working knowledge about how the EU functions. But this fractious non-arrangement is not sustainable.
Following the creation of the post of State Secretary of EU Affairs within the Government Office, the office’s EU section is supposed to play a key role in forming Czech positions on EU issues, but the section isn’t active in Brussels. Without its own source of information, the staff in the EU affairs section passively monitors the work of the Czech mission in Brussels and check with what mandates for negotiation the ministries send their representatives to Brussels.
The Government Office’s EU affairs section can thus hardly be described as effective, and this is reflected by an exodus of its staff: almost half of the section’s employees have left over the past year.
Thus the Czech Republic has two teams — one in the Government Office, the other in the Foreign Ministry — duplicating the same efforts and same work to fulfill a nonexistent task. In the Government Office, there’s a largely young team with very little experience of the workings of the EU in Brussels, and in the Foreign Ministry there’s a close-knit team of experienced diplomats and bureaucrats. But neither has central authority for the government’s EU agenda.
One machine with a single motor for Europe
In order to formulate and implement successful policies on EU issues, the Czech Republic requires political tasks to be set and a functioning system for the coordination of the country’s EU politics. It’s also essential to reach political agreements on a concept and strategy for Czech EU policy.
This must contain a clear vision as to whether the Czech Republic wants to be at the core of the EU, or if it wishes to forego the possibility of influencing decision making on key issues and remain on the periphery. This issue needs to be approached outside of the confinements of political allegiances and debated by the parties’ experts, experts on European integration, and with representatives of business and industry and also representatives of public interests.
