A Performance Assessment of the 2022 Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU: External Security

Abstract

This contribution to the forum on the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU (CZ PRES) in 2022 focuses on external security policy issues. It provides a tentative assessment of the legislative agenda, non-legislative deliverables, and relevant political initiatives of the CZ PRES. Building on recently developed methodologies for assessments of EU presidencies, it is based on a set of measurable indicators directly related to the work and efforts of the presidency during its six-month term. The findings indicate a solid execution of the key functions of EU presidencies – political leadership, brokerage, and external representation – in response to the challenges stemming from the war in Ukraine in terms of both legislative and non-legislative deliverables. Regarding the assessment of the political initiatives, the performance of the CZ PRES was above average overall, albeit several initiatives have not realized their maximum potential when it comes to result delivery.