Historic day as Czechs come of age

THE Czech Republic taking over the presidency of the EU is a historic milestone in European integration, the Government has said.

The formerly communist Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993 after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

The Czech Republic, which joined the EU in 2004, took over the rotating six-month presidency from France from midnight. Also, Slovakia joins the eurozone today.

The Czech Republic will have to make key decisions in coming months on the economic downturn, EU budgets, the Lisbon treaty and energy security. “This is a historic undertaking for the Czech Republic,” said Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin.

“This fall of the Berlin Wall anniversary serves as a powerful reminder of how far Europe has travelled during that period.”

Mr Martin said the incoming presidency will have an important role to play in shaping the union’s continuing response to the extremely difficult economic climate. “These events have underlined the value of having our distinctive European nations work closely together under the EU umbrella in order to advance our many shared interests.”

Ireland is to hold a second referendum on the Lisbon treaty before the current EU Commission term ends in the autumn.

Mr Martin said Ireland needed the support of its EU partners in forging important guarantees into the text of the controversial charter. “My prime objective for the coming year is to resolve the issues surrounding the Lisbon treaty so that Ireland can continue to occupy its rightful place as a positive and constructive EU member state, one which wields real influence from a position at the heart of the union.”

Eurosceptic Czech president Vaclav Klaus angered the Government in November when he held talks with Lisbon treaty opponent Declan Ganley during a state visit to Ireland.

The Czech presidency will start work on reviewing the EU’s spending plans from 2007-2013.

“This will be important in preparing the union’s future budget, which is of huge importance to us. The Czech presidency has also set itself an ambitious agenda with regard to sustainable and secure energy,” Mr Martin continued.