COREPER representatives visit the Moravian-Silesian Region

On Friday, 1 July, the Czech Republic started its six-month Presidency of the Council of the EU. On the occasion of the beginning of the Presidency, the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic, in cooperation with the Moravian-Silesian Region, will welcome representatives of the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Member States in the Council of the EU (COREPER I). During their three-day visit, the Confederation will present the history, present and future of industry in the Moravian-Silesian Region, one of the most industrial regions in Central and Eastern Europe. The delegation will see, among other things, the transformation the region has undergone and is still undergoing, from heavy industry to modern production and sustainability.

The visit of the Permanent Representatives of EU Member States in the Moravian-Silesian Region will begin on Thursday, 7 July, when the delegation will arrive at the Leoš Janáček Airport in Mošnov and then travel to the University of Mining and Metallurgy - Technical University of Ostrava. There, they will look at a unique building that has, among other things, its own PV power plant or a digital teaching production line. The line simulates for the students the environment of the so called Smart Factory.

„Robotic and digitalised production processes with Industry 4.0 elements such as virtual reality, machine learning, digital twin or predictive maintenance - it is not only on these systems, thanks to which students of the University of Ostrava and future top professionals are educated, that we want to show the path our region has taken since the era that promoted exclusively heavy industry. The Moravian-Silesian Region, especially the Ostrava and Karviná regions, will always be inseparably linked with hard and demanding work in mines and metallurgical plants. However, we want to show that today we are thinking much more about the future of the local landscape and especially the people who live there,“ explains Jan Rafaj, Vice President of the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic.

Apart from Jan Rafaj, the official COREPER I delegation will be accompanied by other representatives of the Confederation, namely Vice President Jan Czudek, Head of the Brussels Office Jana Hartman Radová and representatives of the regional representation of the Confederation in the Moravian-Silesian Region.

Vice President of the Confederation Jan Rafaj, as a regional patriot, will be one of the guides of COREPER I delegation on their tour of the Moravian-Silesian Region. On Thursday, he will also accompany them on their visit to the Karviná region, particularly the Gabriela mine, which will be the centre of the revitalisation of the post-mining landscape. There, the ambassadors will also see a special video mapping of the history and future of the area. The opening day will end with a tour of the World of Technology and the Dolní Vítkovice Area.

On Friday, the COREPER delegation will first have a working breakfast with representatives of Liberty Steel, who will introduce the ambassadors to the company's greening projects. In TATRA Kopřivnice, one of the oldest automobile factories in the world, they will then visit the production plant, the historical exhibition, including the legendary Slovak Strela train and a special polygon that is used by TATRA TRUCKS to test its vehicles before they are put into live operation. In the afternoon, after moving to Třinec, the ambassadors will visit one of the key operations of Třinecké železárny, the modernised continuous wire rod mill. Jan Czudek, CEO of Třinecké železárny and Vice President of the Confederation of Industry, will also present to the guests other green projects that the company wants to use to reduce its carbon footprint, such as the upcoming emission-free briquetting line.

„I am glad that we will take the ambassadors of the other 26 EU MS to the Moravian-Silesian Region. The region has taken a huge step forward in recent years. The Czech Republic is negotiating a number of legislative proposals in Brussels concerning the transition to green, sustainable technologies. These are concrete things that will have an impact not only on the further modernisation of the local economy but above all on the quality of life of local people. There is still a lot of work to be done, so it is good that ambassadors from other EU MS will be able to see first-hand what the situation looks like in practice,“ says Jaroslav Zajíček, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic in COREPER I.

ABOUT COREPER

The Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) is the main preparatory body of the Council of the EU, consisting of the ambassadors of the 27 EU MS. It coordinates and prepares the Council's ministerial meetings, ensures the consistency of EU policies and seeks agreement and compromise proposals, which are then submitted for discussion to the ministers at the EU Council.

The ambassadors who sit on COREPER are responsible for conveying the positions and views of their governments. The Presidency, on the other hand, acts as an honest broker. The Committee is divided into two parts. COREPER II is composed of the MS Permanent Representatives to the EU, chaired by Edita Hrdá, the Czech Ambassador as of 1 July until the end of 2022. COREPER I is chaired by Jaroslav Zajíček, the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to COREPER I. COREPER I addresses, among others, issues related to the industry, internal market, transport, agriculture, environment and climate.

EVENT PARTNERS

The following companies are the partners of the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic for the organization of the event: Dopravní podnik Ostrava a.s., FTL - First Transport Lines, a.s., Heimstaden s.r.o., Kofola ČeskoSlovensko a.s., Liberty Ostrava a.s., Optimont 2000 s.r.o., Plzeňský Prazdroj, a.s., Severomoravské vodovody a kanalizace Ostrava a.s. and TRESTLES, a.s.