INTER VI E W W I TH J I Ř Í G E O R G I E V, D E P U T Y MI N I S T ER, MINI ST RY OF F I NA N C E
We are facing TREMENDOUS EXTERNAL CHALLENGES Text: Martina Hošková and M. Zisso; Photo: Archive
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Jiří Georgiev is a lawyer and an experienced professional in the field of European policy. Simultaneously, he also lectures externally at the Faculty of Law at Charles University in Prague. Previously in his career, he was an inter alia adviser to the Senate Committee on EU Affairs, the deputy director-general of the European Affairs Section at the Office of the Government, and director of the Legal Department at the Ministry of Agriculture. Due to his long-term experience with EU policy, he was appointed Deputy Minister responsible for International Relations and the Financial Markets Section at the Ministry of Finance, as of 1st April 2022. In this position, his pivotal task is to participate in the preparation of the Czech presidency of the EU Council in the second half of 2022. The presidency of the Czech Republic over the EU Council starts on 1st July 2022. Which issues do you believe we will be able to make the biggest impact on? During our presidency over the EU Council we will have to face the crucial external consequences of the Ukraine crisis. The war in Ukraine and its humanitarian and economic impacts are, without any doubt, the biggest challenge we have to deal with, not only in Central and Eastern European member states. On the other hand, we should not forget about efforts for economic recovery after the pandemic, caused by Covid-19. Although there were some obstacles and bottlenecks, the economic recovery in the EU was well on track before the 24th of February. Now, one of the main tasks for the EU during our presidency will be to provide maximum support to Ukraine and its citizens, and, at the same time, to foster and protect the economic growth in the EU. Last but not least, we also have to keep in mind that the pivotal role of the Council Presidency is to keep the every-
day agenda running. The Presidency is responsible for the day-to-day work of the Council and all its preparatory bodies. Despite the tremendous external challenges that I have mentioned, we would like to move the legislative files on the table forward. Which aspects and areas of the war in Ukraine will affect the Czech EU presidency the most? As I have already mentioned, this war will have an enormous impact on the course of our presidency. We will have to reflect on the current situation in our presidency priorities, and the Czech government has decided to overhaul its previous plans. To be more specific, we will have to deal with the economic consequences of the war, the influx of refugees, and the implications for the energy sector and the EU budget. In a broader context, we will have to solve soaring energy prices, stability of energy supplies, and problems with supply chains. It is obvious that neither the national government nor the EU can solve everything. Our task, however, is to create the best conditions for allowing
