Big event at the Castle, celebrating 20 years in the EU! Pavel talked about the adoption of the euro, according to Fiala, the Czech Republic became rich

The EU is the largest peace project in the history of the continent, membership in the union and in NATO is the basis of our freedom, prosperity and security, Pavel said at the conference. According to him, membership in the EU has enabled the Czech Republic to improve cities and villages, thanks to the funds railways and roads are being modernized, monuments are being restored and schools are being built.

If the Czech Republic wants to play in the imaginary first league in Europe, it is logical to accept, for example, the euro, said Pavel. Dissatisfied are those who do not pay with it, he added. Among the challenges and problems of the EU, Pavel ranks especially unnecessary bureaucracy, cumbersomeness and often incomprehensibility.

In the first part, entitled “The Czech Republic in the EU: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow”, alongside the Czech and German heads of state, Prime Minister Petr Fiala also spoke (ODS). According to him, EU membership contributed to the fact that the Czech Republic is a much richer country today. The EU gives the Czech Republic security guarantees and firmly anchors it in the West, Fiala said.

Fiala considers competitiveness and security, including energy, to be the current challenges in the EU. “Ukraine is fighting for its right to belong to our civilization, for its right to be free. At the same time, her struggle determines the security conditions in which we will live in the coming years,” he said.

Fiala appealed for independence in the so-called critical sectors. OFhe repeated Czech support for the enlargement of the EU to include the countries of the Western Balkans, Ukraine and Moldova. It stabilizes our neighborhood, he said at the conference.

President of the Lower Chamber Markéta Pekarová Adamová (TOP 09) could not attend the event in person, so she greeted the guests present at least through a video greeting. According to her, Europe’s most fundamental priority must be security. The first step must be the defeat of Russia in Ukraine, said Pekarová Adamová at the conference.

Enlargement 20 years ago made the EU bigger, safer and richer, noted the Speaker of the House. “I believe that other countries will join in the foreseeable future and that this will be an equally successful milestone in European history,” she added.

The President of the Senate Miloš Vystrčil also spoke at the event (ODS). According to him, it is in the common interest to do more not only for Ukraine, but also for other candidate countries. According to Vystrčil, the European Union of tomorrow must be more independent. “They need to go back to their roots and not lose sight of their original purpose and values. The intention to build a safe space without fear in which we can freely develop, move, learn, build, trade.” he added.

The program should also include a video greeting delivered by a representative of one of the candidate countries.

Among other things, the speakers are to discuss the benefits that the enlarged EU has brought to the member states in the past 20 years. The panel is supposed to connect the views of the founding, newer and future member states and try to outline a vision for a common future. In the second part, experts will discuss in the panel “Enlarged Europe in 20 years: Challenges and opportunities”.

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the enlargement of the EU by ten countries, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Monday called for the accelerated acceptance of candidate states from the Western Balkans, which include Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Serbia, North Macedonia and Kosovo. According to Monday’s DPA, the possible expansion of the EU, which now has 27 members, is not expected until the end of this decade at the earliest.

The conference “20 years of the Czech Republic in the EU: Vision for an enlarged Europe” is the culmination of a series of events organized on the occasion of the anniversary. This evening’s concert of the Czech Philharmonic in Prague’s Rudolfinum is also included.