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Prague – The European future is closely linked to the future of other continents, so it is important to mitigate the effects of climate change on the continents that suffer the most or to try to address the root causes of migration. This was stated today by the European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela (STAN) at the opening of the second day of the National Development Days event. The public program focused on Czech development cooperation is taking place all day today in the gardens of the Černín Palace.
“I think that especially in the Czech Republic, which sometimes tends to be self-absorbed and primarily concerned with what is happening in our Czech basin, it is very important to look a little more at the world. And also at the world that is not as rich, safe, and socially secure as our country is,” he said.
Síkela, in his position as European Commissioner for International Partnerships, is striving, among other things, to mitigate the effects of climate change. “Even on those continents that do not have a large share in climate change but suffer the greatest consequences, such as Africa,” he noted. According to him, it is also important to address the root causes of migration. “People migrate very often when they are desperate, and if you offer them a sustainable future, you turn that root cause, desperation, into ambition. And that is something we can then address within the framework of legal migration,” he added.
The European level of development cooperation is important, said Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský (independent) at the event this afternoon. “In recent years, we have managed to make significant progress in ensuring that Czech development aid is done in a European way, that we do it with other partners, and that it is on a larger scale,” he stated. For example, in Zambia or Georgia, the Czech Republic is taking care of the implementation of European projects, he added.
A large amount of funds from Czech development aid is now, according to Lipavský, also directed to Ukraine. In the country attacked by Russia, money is going, for example, to demining or the reconstruction of healthcare facilities and energy sources. (May 23)