Prague to conduct an informal EU summit in October; President Michel says

The European Council President Charles Michel and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala declared after their meeting in Prague that an informal European Union (EU) summit will be held in Prague’s capital city on October 6-7.

Charles Michel visited Prague on Thursday eve of the start of the Czech Presidency and said the Czech presidency comes at a “turning point” for Europe.

Michel added, “Never has our Union faced such great challenges, naming the conflict in Ukraine, security and defence, energy and the resilience of EU economies.

Further, the European Council President added that he had confirmed the dates of October 6 and 7 and will host the 27 European leaders for the informal meeting of the European Council.

According to Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, the EU member states will likely face a great challenge due to the energy crisis and the economic situation of the citizens of the EU.

“These are things that we cannot even deal with in isolation, like individual European states. We must find a common European solution,” he said in a separate statement.

The Czech Republic is expected to take over the rotating EU Council presidency for the coming half a year, likely starting from July 1.

While referring to Ukraine, President Charles Michel has detailed the refugee crisis and aid to Ukraine, energy security, defence reinforcement and resilience of the European economy, among others, as its presidency’s main priorities.

Further, he added during the meeting that both countries would work together to bolster Europe’s defence and security capabilities and develop the Hybrid Toolbox quickly that will quickly trace threats like foreign interference, disinformation and disruptions in cyberspace.

President Charles talked about cooperating with NATO and recognized its strong ties with NATO and the strong strategic partnership between the EU and NATO.

Summing up, he added that the EU looks forward to making Europe safe and more prosperous and inspired by our strong common values.