Subscribe here: [ Ссылка ] The Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU was very active and committed, and our admiration belongs to Czech Prime Minister Petar Fial and his team in Brussels and Prague. Charles Michel, President of the European Council, said this at the final press conference after the one-day EU summit this evening. The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that Europe owes the Czech Republic a debt due to its work over the past six months.
The Czechia took over the presidency in the middle of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and at the beginning of the energy crisis, and yet it managed to reach compromises, proceed unitedly and continue to help Kyiv, Fiala evaluated the Czech six-month tenure in the leadership of the EU Council. He added that it was not always an easy negotiation, but together they always managed to see it through to the end. In conclusion, the Czech Prime Minister thanked von der Leyen and Michel and wished a successful presidency to Sweden, which will take over on January 1.
“The whole presidency was a big challenge,” said Fiala when asked what he considered the most difficult moment. He described negotiations with Hungary, for example, as sensitive.
Von der Leyen today highlighted the “excellent cooperation” with the Czech Republic and stated that Europe owes it a debt because of the work it has done.
“We had no doubts that the Czechs would be good,” declared Michel, who then praised the way Czech representatives acted during the presidency to protect the unity and credibility of the EU. “We always thought that the Czechia was amazing, and the last six months have shown that it is even more amazing,” added von der Leyen.
Today’s summit was the last summit during the ending Czech EU presidency. The ambassadors of the EU countries agreed on a new package of sanctions against Russia. The ninth set of sanctions introduced due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine is intended, among other things, to limit investments in the Russian mining industry or the export of chemicals and technologies that can be used for military purposes.
Today, the states of the European Union also managed to approve a complex negotiated compromise regarding Hungary’s access to EU funds, financial support for Ukraine next year and the introduction of a minimum tax for multinational corporations.
Fiala also praised the result of today’s negotiations at the press conference. “This unified approach is confirmed by the package approved today containing macro-financial assistance to Ukraine and the ninth sanctions package,” Fiala said. “Perhaps we had to devote even more time, work and attention to the economic effects of the war, especially the rising energy prices, which to varying degrees, but without exception, affected all citizens of the member countries,” he added.
According to the Prime Minister of the Czech government, the last key step will be taken on Monday at the meeting of the ministers of energy, where the restriction of gas prices should probably be adopted. Fiala said at a press conference that a significant advance was achieved in the negotiations today, although several more compromises will be needed to reach an agreement.
The EU summit mandated ministers to agree on a price ceiling for gas on Monday
The presidents and prime ministers of the countries of the European Union today instructed the ministers of energy to negotiate the parameters of the price ceiling for gas at their meeting on Monday, with the approval of which some countries have combined the approval of joint purchases of gas or its solidarity provision in an emergency. According to Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, all countries are ready for a compromise after today’s summit. At the same time, the leaders of the member states want the European Commission to present an analysis of the effects of the energy market reform, which most states are seeking due to the recent record price increase, at the beginning of next year.
Since the summer, the European bloc has been trying to find agreement on the parameters of a mechanism that would prevent a significant increase in the price of gas, which also negatively affects electricity prices. In August, gas prices briefly climbed above 300 euros (about 7,320 CZK) per megawatt hour (MWh), which led a number of member countries to introduce their own costly measures to support households and companies.
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