The ceremonial opening of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU began with participation of the band Ondřej Havelka & His Melody Makers, excellent performers of world and Czechoslovak early and peak swing of the 1930s and 1940s. The performance ended with a swing interpretation of the anthem of the European Union.

The Presidency of the Council of the EU is one of the most important rights and most challenging tasks of the EU membership. The role of the Presidency is not only organisational, but also mediating, political and representational. The rotating presidency is an important instrument of the balance of power between Member States and the EU institutions. It symbolises equality between Member States, regardless of their size, geographical location or date of accession to the EU. The other EU institutions respect the presiding Member State as a partner representing the whole Council. The Czech Republic, as the country holding the Presidency for six months from July 2022, becomes the centre of the EU and, in many areas of international policy, the main representative of the EU in its relations with third countries.

The motto of the entire six-month Czech Presidency is „Europe as a task – rethink, rebuild, repower“. A phrase that refers to the thoughts of the first President of Czechoslovakia, and subsequently of the Czech Republic, Václav Havel from 1996. Since then, Europe has changed, it has new tasks and challenges, but we understand the chosen motto not only as an opportunity to reflect together, but above all as a call for accountability and a determined action based on the values that our conscience requires us to pursue. If we want to live up to the expectations of this historical moment, our triple challenge is to rethink, rebuild and repower Europe.

During its Presidency, the Czech Republic will focus on five closely interlinked priority areas: Managing the refugee crisis and Ukraine’s post-war recovery, Energy security, Strengthening Europe’s defence capabilities and cyberspace security, Strategic resilience of the European economy, and Resilience of democratic institutions. Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the UN, OSCE and other international organizations in Vienna Ivo Šrámek addressed these priorities in his opening speech.

More information on the Czech Presidency in the Council of the European Union is on the official website www.EU2022.CZ .