I should start by pointing out the obvious. The Czech Presidency has a number of strikes against it that stem from events outside of their control. Both the global economic situation and the tensions between Russia and Ukraine predate the beginning of the Czech presidency. In addition, the Czech government has a burden of history when dealing with Russia in the same way that the Slovenian Presidency was weakened by its history as part of the former Yugoslavia during the Kosovo independence crisis. As a result, the question is not what could have been done to avoid these problems, but could anything have been done differently, given these realities, to ameliorate them more effectively. Your question is essentially – would a bigger state (you name France, Germany or the UK) have been better able to manage these pre-existing crises.

Honestly, I do not think that size is the key issue. The situation is far more complex than that. The Czech Republic, like most of the newer member states, is comparatively weaker or less effective on the global stage, not because of their size, but because of their inexperience playing this role. Internally they simply lack significant numbers of politicians and diplomats with the requisite experience and contacts. These develop over time, and time is one thing the countries of Central and Eastern Europe simply have not had. It is critically important to remember that democratization took place just 20 years ago. There has not been sufficient time to develop the kinds of internal diplomatic resources and expertise that allow a country – of whatever size – to be influential globally. In addition to this structural weakness is the still very immature character of the political system itself – partisan instability (though less of a problem in the Czech Republic than elsewhere in the region) adds to the inability of the Government to engage political leaders on the world stage.

Added to this weakness is the high level of internal political discord and the on-going battle between a well know and very vocal President and the internationally less well known parliamentary leaders. Those outside of the Czech Republic hear two very different messages about the national vision for the EU and the role of the Czech Republic within it. This type of weakness is significantly increased by occurrences such as the debacle over the ‘Entropy’ exhibit by Cerny. This type of blatant disregard for the core message of the EU – even if done in the name or art and artistic freedom – creates a very skeptical and even negative view of the Czech Republic amongst the older member states and beyond. Others within the EU are less likely to entrust the Czech government with important initiatives and, most significantly in terms of the success of the Czech presidency, they are unlikely to give the Czech government the benefit of the doubt during negotiations (for example over how to proceed on the economy or in negotiations with Russia).

Fundamentally, size is not the issue. There have been small states, such as Ireland and the Netherlands, that have been extremely successful in the presidency and large states like Italy that have had nearly catastrophic presidencies. The factor that matters (and may often be correlated with size, but need not be) is the quality and quantity of a country’s diplomatic resources as well as the internal stability of the system itself. Fundamentally the questions to be asked include: are there political leaders that are respected internationally? Is there a strong and professionalized diplomatic core with international experience that can work behind the scenes to facilitate conflict resolution and rapid and effective responses to crises? Is the national leader recognized as a leader both domestically and internationally? Are there a variety of members from within the political class who can assist the government in a variety of geographic regions or substantive policy arenas in terms of policy development and diplomatic implementation of these initiatives?

These characteristics are not simply a function of size, although size may help. These characteristics require a stable and well developed political system, effective governing structures, an experienced diplomatic core and long-standing international relations and linkages with countries across the globe. Few if any of the newest member states can lay claim to all of these attributes….yet. These take time to develop and to expect that the Czech Republic will be able to lead the EU on the global stage with the same skill and effectiveness as a country that has been an established democracy for more than three times as long is simply unfair. But again – there are many established democracies that also lack one or more of the characteristics outlined above.

Longevity, unlike size, is necessary, but like size, it is not sufficient.