Since the Czech Republic’s accession to the EU,
the European integration process has had a big
impact on the political agenda of the Czech
Republic. The Czech Council Presidency in 2009
provided the country with an administrative cha -
llenge as well as an opportunity to make the country
visible within the EU. The presidency had an
impact on the way European policy is handled
within the Czech administration and was also a
topic that attracted public interest to European
affairs.
The Lisbon Treaty, the Czech EU presidency
and the eurozone crisis were the biggest issues that
dominated both the political and the public debate
on the EU as well as the actual agenda in the past
years. Traditionally, there is a more pro-European
camp consisting of the Czech Social Democratic
Party (ČSSD), the Christian Democrats (KDUČSL)
and the Green Party (SZ), and a more eurosceptic
camp consisting of the Civic Democrats
(ODS) and the Communist Party (KSČM). Gra -
dually, however, and primarily as a consequence of
the ODS becoming more pragmatic, this clear
division has become blurred. The political dispute
over Lisbon complicated the ratification process of
the treaty and also had some impact on the overall
reputation of the Czech presidency. Even if the
actual outcomes of the presidency were rather po -
sitive in many respects –the Eastern Partnership,
the way the presidency solved the gas crisis and the
legal guarantees for Ireland– it will probably be
remembered mainly for speculations about the
impact of Czech euro-scepticism and the media
turmoil after the fall of the government in the middle
of the presidency.