Organising the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU – Lessons Learnt Radomír KARLÍK, Director Department of Logistics and Organisation September 2009

Department of Logistics and Organisation Section of the Presidency, Government Office  Direct management, not larger hierarchy  22 administrators within 10 units (calendar, PCF, furniture and conference set-ups, technical support, hotels, catering, accreditation, interpretation, LOs, transport)  semi-independent management of PCF  70 liaison officers

Central Organisation Group Main structure of ministerial coordination  Rather informal, without rigid institutional status  Ministerial representatives on the level of directors  Necessity to obtain sufficent coordinating authority  Spreading information, steering all the major organisation activities  Not a floor for a wider discussion  Rather a body of important feed-back

Permanent Conference Facility Congress Centre of Prague  Past experience (IMF 2000, NATO Summit 2002)  Advantage of logistical position (highway, hotels, out of the very centre of the capital)  Variety of conference premises  Single standard of Presidency events  Easy coordination of the ministries

Ministerial Events in Regions Government Decision in the mid of 2007  Out of 11 informal Councils (7 out of the capital)  In spite of the original political decision, in reality 14 informal Councils (5 in regions, 9 in Prague)  Appropriate premises, sufficient logistical back-up, transport (government aircraft)  Advantage: financial and organisational support of regional authorities

Presidency Calendar  Backbone of the accreditation system and management of PCF, electronically based  All the Presidency events in the country  Access of the ministries for feedback

Conference Set-ups  New furniture to suit the purpose, mobility  Architect solution for every venue and ministerial event  Close co-operation with the technical unit

Technical Support  Interpretation, audio+video infrastructure, press centres  Communication within the Department (cell phones, walkie-talkie)  Most sophisticated, most expensive  Level of usual standards vs. cut off on the costs  New set-up of a base technical infrastructure (PCF, regions)

Accomodation  Past Presidency experience: program changes, no show, cut-off on delegation numbers –) high penalty costs  Not direct booking, outsourcing to the agency  Decentralised responsibility for hotel bookings  No costs for the central co-ordinator

Catering  Very individual approach, up to the hosting ministries to decide  Necessary matching to the accompanying program and gala dinner (ministerial responsibility)  Regional involvement

Accreditation  Newly developed on-line, web-based accreditation system  Close co-operation with security authorities, direct access  On-line administration + call centre for last-minute changes  Database for other organisation activities: transport, accomodation, catering

Interpretation  SCIC – DG Interpretation (summits + Informal Councils)  High SCIC standards (set-up, technical support) – early inspection visits, importance of close co-operation  Tendered Interpretation agency for working-level meetings  In-time thematical background papers from hosting ministries

Transport  Sponsored car-fleet (limousines, minivans) – armoured cars for the summits  Buses for transport during accompanying social programs  Management by Police and Army – importance of related security provisions  Decentralized management by LOs, flexibility with respect to individual program changes