Expectations for the Czech EU Presidency 

Indeed, given the large number of crises facing the presidency, including the global economic downturn, the Gaza conflict and the Ukrainian-Russian gas dispute, it is "not unreasonable to wonder whether such a new and relatively small EU member state outside of the euro zone will be capable of tackling this formidable set of challenges," Král argues.

The paper predicts that the global economic crisis will hit the EU "hardest" during the Czech Presidency's six-month term, decreasing "the general European appetite for further liberalisation of the internal market". This will be a major obstacle for the Czechs, for whom completing the internal market was "one of [the] main goals".

Regarding the Ukrainian-Russian gas dispute, the Czech government is aiming to "forge a greater consensus among member states that [energy security] is important and that overall energy dependence on Russia is potentially dangerous," the paper states.

Thus, the Czech Presidency supports the Nabucco pipeline project, designed to enable Europe to acquire gas from countries like Iran. 

Král warns that Nabucco is a delicate issue, as it will be difficult for Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek to argue in favour of bringing Iranian gas to Europe while at the same time assert that Tehran is a threat to European security. 

The Czech Presidency will also find the Gaza conflict particularly challenging, because the "limited leverage of its diplomacy puts [it] in a disadvantageous position compared to the drive of [French] President [Nicolas] Sarkozy," the paper argues. 

Indeed, Sarkozy "launched a parallel mission to the Middle East and seems to be doing better so far, by engaging other actors such as Egypt," Král writes. 

Although the Czech Presidency will mainly be engaged in crisis management, he concludes that it has a "window of opportunity" to find "common ground on controversial issues such as energy security and resuscitation of the European economy".