Czech President Klaus describes himself as EU “dissident”

The Czech president, Václav Klaus, has described himself as a “dissident” regarding the European Union. He made the comments in Ireland, where he is on a three-day official state visit. The Irish government has reacted coolly to Mr Klaus’s plans to hold a private meeting on Tuesday evening with the man who led the No campaign against Ireland ratifying the EU’s Lisbon treaty, Declan Ganley. However, Mr Klaus said his predecessor Václav Havel had met political dissidents while on state visits, so why shouldn’t he meet an “EU dissident”, which he also considered himself to be. The Czech president, one of Europe’s most vocal critics of Lisbon, met Irish President Mary McAleese and Taoiseach Brian Cowen on Monday.

The Czech Republic is one of the few EU members not to have ratified the Lisbon treaty, aimed at reforming how the bloc is run. The Czech prime minister, Mirek Topolánek, said last week that Parliament would vote on the matter during the first few months of next year: that is, during the Czech presidency of the union. However, the document cannot come into force unless Ireland, whose people rejected it in a referendum in June, changes its position.

Author: Ian Willoughby