"Europe as a Task: Rethink, Rebuild, Repower". This is the official motto of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which started on 1 July 2022 and will focus on managing the consequences of the war in Ukraine, reducing Europe's energy dependence and increasing its future strategic autonomy.

Addressing EESC president Christa Schweng and the other EESC members at the plenary session debate on 13 July 2022, the Czech Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jan Lipavský, presented the priorities of his country's EU presidency.

"The delicate economic and geopolitical context has partially shifted the priorities and the war in Ukraine, and its impact on Europe will guide the Czech Presidency throughout its mandate," he said. "We are at a time when there is a war going on just outside the borders of the European Union and our main task in the period ahead will be to find a united and strong consensus on measures that will mitigate the negative impact of the developments on our citizens as much as possible."

Inspired by Czech statesman Václav Havel's vision in a speech 26 years ago, the motto provides a strong message to sum up the five pillars of the Czech EU Presidency:

1. managing the refugee crisis and the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine,
2. increasing the EU's energy security,
3. increasing European defence capabilities and cyberspace security,
4. strengthening the strategic resilience of the European economy,
5. protecting the EU's democratic institutions and its values.

Saying that the Czech EU Presidency's priorities were also the priorities of the EESC and Europe as a whole, Ms Schweng added: "The Czech Republic is taking over the rotating Council presidency at a time when the European Union is still struggling to recover from the consequences of the pandemic, while facing the consequences of the war in Ukraine. We will do our utmost to ensure that our Committee makes a powerful contribution to the activities of the Czech Presidency." (mp)