Current Affairs Czech president throws another spanner in the works of the Lisbon treaty
Eurosceptic president Václav Klaus on Thursday threw another spanner in the works of the Lisbon treaty. During a telephone conversation with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country currently presides over the EU, the Czech president said that he would only sign the Lisbon treaty on two conditions – if the Czech Constitutional Court rejected a legal challenge to it and if the EU was prepared to add a footnote to the treaty pertaining to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Václav Klaus, photo: CTK
For some time now President Klaus had been under pressure to reveal his
intentions. At a press briefing on Friday afternoon he clarified his
position. The president said the Lisbon treaty was a bad treaty for the
Czech Republic and accused the former government of not having defended the
country’s interests adequately – like Britain or Poland – in
demanding and getting exemptions on vitally important issues. The president
specifically referred to the Beneš decrees which set the ground for the
post-war expulsion of Sudeten Germans and argued that the Charter of
Fundamental Rights attached to the Lisbon treaty would leave the Czech
Republic vulnerable to new property claims from Sudeten Germans or their
descendants. He said he was greatly concerned about Czech courts loosing
jurisdiction over such issues to foreign courts and stressed that the
country needed at least a minimal guarantee in the form of an exemption.
An opt-out of this kind would mean long delays since the treaty would have to be re-negotiated and the footnote would have to be approved once again by all 27 member states. Technically, the request for such a change would have to be made by the Czech government and the head of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek on Friday asked the Czech prime minister to decide whether he wanted to make an official request.
Photo: European Commission
This latest development has created a huge problem not just for the EU but
for the Czech Republic. Legal experts are now analyzing whether the
president is overstepping his powers in this matter and doubtless more
pressure will be exerted on him to sign. If he doesn’t Czech politicians
could start impeachment proceedings against him or Parliament could vote
him unfit for office, which would obviously create internal chaos. If, on
the other hand, the prime minister does ask for the opt-out there would
most likely be a long delay – Brussels would doubtless come up with a
plan “B” and the Czech Republic would have damaged its reputation in
the EU beyond repair.
