Czech Republic Favors Common EU Energy Strategy, Envoy Says

The Czech Republic strongly favors a European strategy for better energy security and a common energy policy, Czech envoy Petr Kolar said at a Newsmaker Thursday. The Czech Republic, he said, thinks it is "crucial for the future and security of Europe to have a common energy policy and to act as one when negotiating energy supplies."

Kolar said the main emphasis of the Czech EU presidency, which ends July 1, has been on a new beginning for EU-U.S. relations, with the advent of the Obama administration. Prague, he said, "wants to build on its excellent relations with the U.S." and hopes it has helped guide the EU toward "a more balanced and multilateral approach to global challenges."