Minister outlines Czech priorities for Europe 2020 strategy

The Czech minister for European affairs, Juraj Chmiel, has outlined country’s priorities for the upcoming EU summit that should deal with the bloc’s economic strategy entitled Europe 2020. Speaking at the Senate on Thursday, Mr Chmiel said these priorities included employment, qualitative economic growth and competitiveness. Minister Chmiel also criticized the European Commission for the lack of emphasis on structural reform, and for not taking into account the national specifics of individual EU member states.

The European Union is set to debate the Europe 2020 strategy document at a summit in Brussels next week. It proposes a number of goals the EU should meet in ten years’ time. Some Czech senators, including the former deputy prime minister for European affairs Alexandr Vondra, criticized the proposal on Thursday for being too vague and for not providing concrete ways of meeting its targets.

Author: Jan Richter