Posted on 28 September 2017
On 21 September 2017, H.E. Hana Hubáčková, Ambassador of the Czech Republic in Rome, visited the European University Institute (EUI). A part of the afternoon included a visit at the Historical Archives of the European Union (HAEU).
At the HAEU, the ambassador was presented archival documents related to important political events on Czech national history and its relations with the EU. The visit to the archives ended with a tour of the vault and the grotto of Villa Salviati.
Ambassador Hubáčková was also introduced to the reportage by Czech National television on the Charta 77, which was broadcasted on 9 September 2017. In preparing that documentary, Czech National TV journalists came to Florence and consulted documents related to the Charter 77 declaration. The archival research brought to light previously unpublished materials of the European Parliament and Foreign Ministries of European Communities’ member states, calling on the Czechoslovak regime in the 1970s and 80s to stop pursuing the signatories of the Charter.
The Charter 77 was a petition circulated in 1977 that advocated for the freedom of a Czech psychedelic rock band who were tried and imprisoned by the Czech Communist government. The petition was prepared by a human rights advocacy group. They called on the government to uphold the human rights and individual freedoms, which were agreed upon according to the Helsinki Declaration of 1975.