As part of the long-running CIS Academy for parliamentary assistants , a study visit for assistants to members of the Seim was held from 24 to 27 November 2024 to enhance their expertise and competences in the field of foreign and security policy.This visit to Prague was a direct follow-up to the first trip of the Czech group to Warsaw in May 2024. The aim of the Prague visit was to further strengthen Czech-Polish cooperation at the level of parliamentary assistants across the political spectrum and to enable the sharing of experience and knowledge in key areas such as foreign policy, strategic communication and legislative processes.
On Monday, 25 November, the Polish group attended a briefing withEva Húsková, Director of the Department of Communication on European Affairs at the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic, which focused on communication on European affairs and Czech attitudes towards the EU. Subsequently we have discussed at the , Ministry of Trade and Commerce the reconstruction of Ukraine, Czech-Polish trade cooperation, hydrogen strategy and the potential of small nuclear reactors. The programme of the first day also included a meeting at the Prague City Hall with Zuzana Hocková, head of the Foreign Relations Department of the Prague City Hall dedicated to the city's international relations.
A key part of Tuesday's programme was visit to the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic with a tour and discussion about the legislation and the work of Czech assistants. At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a meeting with David Stulík, Special Envoy for the Eastern Partnership and Nikola Nekvindová, Head of the Strategic Communication Department, whose topic was strategic communication in the context of the war in Ukraine and its further development.
On Wednesday, the programme concluded with workshops on the use of data in public administration in the Czech Republic with the organisation Czech Priorities and discussion on the perspectives of Czech-Polish cooperation with Vít Dostál, Chairman of the Czech-Polish Forum Program Board, who also summarized the visit and the participants' observations.
This visit represented a unique opportunity to exchange experiences, strengthen mutual contacts and further develop cooperation between Czech and Polish parliamentary assistants and democratic political parties.
Both the study trip to Warsaw and to Prague were supported by the Czech-Polish Forum of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. The visit to Prague was supported by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. The project partner is the Warsaw Institute.
