French and Czech foreign ministers discuss future of EU












            ******************************************************************************************

            * Beyond 1989 – Hopes and Disillusions after Revolutions
            ******************************************************************************************


            France’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian and Czech Foreign Mini
            Petříček were the main speakers on Friday, December 6, in a debate held at the Blue Audito
            University’s Faculty of Arts – part of a two-day conference entitled Beyond 1989 – Hopes a

            after Revolutions [ URL "http://www.cefres.cz/en/events/event/beyond-1989"] .

            The meeting and discussion marked the anniversary of the first official visit to Czechoslo

            head of state.On December 7, 1988, President Francois Mitterand arrived in Czechoslovakia 
            human rights agenda and met with Czech dissidents in a show of support – roughly a year be

            of the Velvet Revolution and the collapse of communism in Europe. A similar meeting would 
            September 1990; but by then Václav Havel was the country’s first-communist president and f
            dissident Jiří Dienstbier was Czechoslovakia’s foreign minister.


            Friday’s meeting was not just a look back at 30 years but a discussion about the future di
            Europe. Czech Foreign Minister Petříček expressed a preference for incremental or smaller 

            the EU can agree, to avoid unexpected surprises or shocks further down the road. Additiona
            foreign minister made clear more needed to be done to bring regular citizens into the fold



            In his presentation, the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Le Drian placed great emp
            importance of defence as a key facet of European cooperation and essential when it came to

            European autonomy. He cited the need for Europe to be able to guarantee its own defence (m
            notwithstanding or as a “starting point”). Mr Le Drian also said that Europe needed to avo
            when it came to areas such as digitalisation.



            Others who spoke at the two-day conference included the head of CEFRES, Jérôme Heurtaux, t

            of Science’s Institute of Contemporary History’s Miroslav Vaněk, and Charles University Re
            and theVice-Rector for European Affairs Lenka Rovná.


            The conference was organised by Charles University together with the Czech Academy of Scie
            French Research Center in Humanities and Social Sciences – Prague (CEFRES).







            ******************************************************************************************
            *

            ******************************************************************************************




            ******************************************************************************************
            *

            ******************************************************************************************

            Story by Jitka Jiřičková

            Photos by René Volfík
            Translated and edited by Jan Velinger