Czech EU presidency: Managing Rule of law and following-up with the CoFoE

Upon the completion of the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE), it was up to the Czech EU Presidency to coordinate its follow-up, which also included the parliamentary dimension of this process. Based on extensive analysis of parliamentary documents, interviews, as well as direct observation, this chapter dives into the Czech parliament’s handling of the CoFoE, in light of the country’s relatively high levels of euroscepticism and active stance in the political dialogue with the Commission. The findings reveal that, despite the initially voiced ambitions to secure an important place for national parliaments in this transnational deliberative process, the Czech parliament did not use its opportunity to become a substantial and constructive player in the parliamentary pillar of the CoFoE. It neither systematically monitored the activities of its delegates to the CoFoE, nor invested in national-level public communication or citizen-oriented consultations. While the broader political spectrum of Czech Members of Parliament (MPs) revealed general disinterest in the Conference, Czech delegates to its plenary acted more as observers and facilitators.