The upcoming Czech EU presidency

Panel discussion at the German Council on Foreign Relations
Tuesday, December 2, 2008 at 18:00

Following the event at the Federation of German Industries (BDI), Mike Bocchini (another Bosch Fellow and good friend) and I rush with the 200 Bus to the German Council of Foreign Relations located in the prestigious neighborhoods along the Tiergartenstrasse (Berlin's Embassy Row). There we quickly sign in and join the audience.

The panel includes:
- Christian Schmidt, MdB - State Secretary at the German Defense Ministry
- Dr. Alexandr Vondra - Vice Prime Minister from Czech Republic
- Dr. Jan Karlas - Institute for International Relations, Prague

The discussion revolved mostly around what we should expect of Czech Republic's upcoming 6-month EU presidency. Dr. Vondra stated that since the "Czech way" is a little more subdued, pensive, and conservative, we should not expect earth-shattering policies or initiatives. He proceeded to outline general stances with regards to energy policy, Russia, neighboring geopolitics, the current financial crisis, macroeconomic issues, and others.

The 2-hour discussion was held in three languages: Czech, German, and English. Needless to say, the translators were busy and us in the audience were constantly putting on and taking off the cordless translation headset according to our language breadth. The discussion took place in the Robert Bosch Hall and was financed by the Robert Bosch Foundation.

Following the discussion, wine, drinks, and delicious prezels were served to the gathering. The audience comprised largely of the Carl Friedrich Goerdeler-Kollegs, the sister program at the Bosch Foundation to the U.S. Fellows program I am part of. We all stood around the standing-tables and talked about the issues we just heard and how our work Stages are currently going. They are all currently in Berlin for their Seminar and it was good to see them all again.

Overall, I am glad I went to this event tonight. It was interesting hearing about the EU presidency and how the Czech Republic is approaching this task. EU politics is generally not my focus but it never hurts to learn!