Taking over the European Union presidency in January was supposed to be the Czech Republic’s coming out party as the first former Soviet bloc country to assume the role, but it will come at a time of international crisis, with a weak government and unsteady relations with Brussels.
Further enfeebling Prague’s position, the country has not yet ratified the Lisbon treaty – which reforms the functioning of the EU – and is not a member of the euro, at a time when the eurozone is leading the region’s response to the global crisis.
