Archive: European Union | European Union European Union
Czech Senate approves Lisbon but Klaus holding out over putting signature to ratification
The Czech Senate approved the Lisbon treaty in a vote on Wednesday
afternoon, some two months after the document was ratified by the lower
house of Parliament. The Czech Republic is one of the last countries in
Europe to vote on the reform document, and its ratification is far from
complete, with eurosceptic president Vaclav Klaus still having to sign the
document.
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Klaus presides over first EU summit
What had been described by some as “a nightmare scenario” for the
European Union came true on Monday when the eurosceptic president Vaclav
Klaus formally took charge of the Czech EU presidency – for a day at
least. For the first time, Mr Klaus presided over a high-level EU meeting,
chairing the European Union’s summit with Japan in Prague. However even
when it came to global warming – a famous bugbear of Mr Klaus – the
president maintained a diplomatic silence.
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Five years of membership fuels reflections over Czechs’ EU record
The Czech Republic formally entered the European Union along with nine
other countries on May 1, 2004, in what is the biggest enlargement staged
so far by the EU. Five years on, the anniversary has been greeted with
satisfaction rather than celebration. But there is still a feeling that the
country could have done more to make its EU mark.
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Outgoing PM urges Civic Democrats to back Lisbon treaty
This Wednesday the Lisbon treaty, aimed at reforming the workings of the
27-member European Union, faces a key vote in the Czech Senate, one which
has many in Brussels worried. Although observers remain optimistic, the
Senate could potentially scuttle the document, amounting to a serious
setback en par with last year’s No vote in the Irish referendum. Could it
happen?
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Will the interim government give President Klaus a bigger role in the Czech EU presidency?
With a caretaker government due to take over on May 8, there is growing
concern as to how the Czech Republic will handle the remainder of its EU
presidency. Can the country’s little-known and relatively inexperienced
new prime minister Jan Fisher stand up to the pressure – or is this a
chance for the country’s Eurosceptic president Václav Klaus to exert a
far greater influence on EU affairs? Political analyst Jiří Pehe says the
fears of what Mr. Klaus can do are greatly exaggerated.
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Low turnout at meeting of ministers confirms lame duck nature of Czech EU presidency since fall of government
If there were any doubts that the Czech Republic’s presidency of the EU
effectively ended when the country’s government fell last month, they
were dispelled on Thursday, when only a handful of the bloc’s regional
development ministers came to a Czech-hosted meeting. On top of that, the
creator of a controversial sculpture in Brussels says he will remove it
before the Czech presidency ends, in protest at the toppling of the
government at such an important time.
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Turkey that joins EU will be different from today’s Turkey, says foreign minister in Prague
Whether to allow Turkey to become a member is one of the most divisive
issues facing the European Union, a debate that was stoked recently when
the new US president called for Turkish accession. On Tuesday, Turkey’s
progress towards that goal was on the agenda in Prague, where its foreign
minister held talks with EU officials. More
How to vote in the European Parliament election
In less than two months’ time, between June 4 and June 7, the European
Union will be holding the biggest trans-national election in history.
Citizens of the 27 member states will be voting to choose the 736 members
of the European Parliament. One of the features of the election is that
citizens of one member state who live abroad are entitled to vote in their
country of residence, if that country is also an EU member. That means that
if you are a citizen of any EU country and live legally in the Czech
Republic, you can vote for candidates standing in this country. But if you
do want to vote, you will need to hurry, as you have just a few days left
to register. David Vaughan has more details.
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EU environment ministers tackle climate change in Prague
EU environment ministers came to the end of a two day informal meeting in
Prague on Wednesday. The talks have been dominated by one subject - climate
change – which is a major issue for the Czech EU presidency.
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Czech Republic not to accept Guantanamo detainees, says interior minister
The Czech Republic will not accept any former inmates from the Guantanamo
Bay military prison camp, Interior Minister Ivan Langer said on Monday in
response to a US appeal for EU member states to do so. Mr Langer said that
the Czech Republic was not currently equipped to take in any of the
camp’s former detainees but that, as the current head of the European
Union, it would try to negotiate a common European solution to the problem.
Earlier today, I spoke to Markéta Matlochová from the Czech Interior
Ministry, who said that the matter was under consultation:
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