Prague - European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso arrived in Prague on Tuesday 2 April, at the invitation of new Czech President Milos Zeman, who was elected in January this year.
Zeman's invitation is interpreted by analysts as a sign that his presidency will be more EU-friendly than that of his eurosceptic predecessor, Vaclav Klaus.
Eurofederalist Zeman to greet top EU officials in April
On Wednesday 3 April in the morning, Barroso visited the headquarters of the Galileo satellite navigation system, which was transferred to Prague in 2012.
Galileo operation center: Prague's top secret facility
Later on Wednesday, Barroso and Zeman raised the European Union flag at Prague Castle, the official seat of the Czech president, alongside with the Czech flag. Dozens of people staged a protest against the ceremony, whistling as the flag was being raised. They also shouted "shame" at both Zeman and Barroso.
During his presidency, Vaclav Klaus did not allow the EU flag to be flown at Prague Castle.
Zeman, who declared himself a "convinced eurofederalist", also signed the amendment to the Lisbon Treaty to create a permanent rescue fund for the eurozone. The same amendment was called a "grotesque and absurd thing" by former President Klaus, who refused to sign it.
The rescue fund has been established only to help the eurozone countries that have found themselves in financial difficulties, which means that it actually does not need the Czech Republic's ratification to be employed. Zeman himself admitted that his signature was rather a symbolic gesture.
The Czech Republic is the last of the 27 EU states that has not ratified the treaty yet, after Great Britain ratified the document in November 2012.
Zeman said that the Czech Republic will join the eurozone in five years, at the earliest.
The last time Barroso visited Prague was at the end of 2011, to attend the funeral of ex-President Vaclav Havel. In 2009, he met in Prague with newly appointed caretaker Prime Minister Jan Fischer, when the Czech Republic held the rotating EU presidency.
