The neutral servant: the Czech EU Council Presidency and its framing by the political parties

The rotating Presidency of the EU Council has been considered as a neutral and technocratic service that circulates among EU Member States. However, this traditional view is challenged in an era where the EU has become politicized and contested. This article explores whether this neutral technocratic approach still holds by examining the preparatory stage of the Czech EU Council Presidency in 2022. Despite the highly politicized nature of the general Czech EU debate, the Presidency was framed by domestic political parties - including the populist ones - as a neutral task or challenge. The depoliticization of the Presidency can be attributed to its low attractiveness to populist parties, the limited number of participants in the debate, and the prominence of more salient EU-related topics, such as the war in Ukraine.