Czech EU mysteries explained

Is the Czech Republic a constructive and contributing member of the European Union, or still lost in Europe after prolonged Soviet occupation and Communist rule?

EU citizens have been mystified by Czech happenings in 2009.

Czech president Vaclav Klaus long resisted signing the ratification of the EU Lisbon Treaty, the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) joined the anti-integrationist European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group in the European Parliament and the Czech presidency of the EU Council during the first half of 2009 left a mixed record, including the fall of the government.

A caretaker government is fairly steadily led by Jan Fischer is in charge until the general election in May 2010, but outside government party political fragmentation undermines the picture of a mature democracy.


EPIN


The European Policy Institutes Network (EPIN) has published a paper by Mats Braun: Understanding Klaus – The Story of Czech Eurorealism (EPIN Working Paper No. 26 / November 2009; 11 pages).


Vaclav Klaus and ODS

Braun notes that the Czech population is less “eurosceptic” than members of the political elite, especially within the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), and even the ODS voters are more positive to the EU than the party. The ideological “eurorealism” of the ODS, founded by Vaclav Klaus, is based on fears of domination of the European Union institutions by big countries, and it seeks refuge in Czech sovereignty. In addition to ODS reticence on the right, the Communist Party opposes the EU on the left.

The ratification process of the Lisbon Treaty in the Czech Republic was slow, and some ODS senators loyal to Vaclav Klaus put up stiff resistance during the parliamentary debate and later. Vaclav Klaus’ view of intergovernmental cooperation is far outside the mainstream in Europe and the Czech Republic, but he signed the ratification instrument in order to evade a constitutional complaint for failing to fulfil his constitutional duties.


Europeanisation – slowly

Braun sees an ongoing process of Europeanisation of the ODS and its leader, ex prime minister Mirek Topolanek through interaction within the European Union, but the party is still split. On the other hand, joining the ECR group in the European Parliament together with the UK Conservative Party and the Polish Law and Justice Party (PiS) may conserve “eurosceptic” attitudes.

Braun draws the conclusion that the hard core of Czech eurosceptics is becoming more and more isolated, although the ODS party discourse is sticky.

According to Braun, the ratification problems of the Lisbon Treaty can be seen as an attempt by an ever-shrinking part of the political elite who resist socialisation (into Europe) to make a final effort to make an imprint on Europe. He even describes them as a dying breed, although he does not expect the ODS to leave the ECR group within a foreseeable future.

Klaus’ opt-out from the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights clearly exceeded the mandate of his office, but it remains to be seen if there will be a domestic debate on the legitimacy of this op-out in the Czech Republic.


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Braun’s clear and well written working paper sheds light on events which have mystified Europeans A.D. 2009.



I checked Czech Happenings on the recent ODS party congress, but failed to find any news in English about the EU relations of the party. Mirek Topolanek is in charge until the elections, but there seem to be undercurrents of opposition.



Ralf Grahn



P.S. Do you find EUSSR myths fascinating? Are we EU citizens worth a better European Union? Read some or all of the 481 Euroblogs aggregated on multilingual Bloggingportal.eu. On most of the blogs you can comment and discuss our common European future.

Lisbon Treaty into force 1 December 2009?

Czech Happenings report that president Vaclav Klaus has signed the Lisbon Treaty this afternoon, after it was passed by the Czech Constitutional Court earlier today.



Acting prime minister Jan Fischer has said that he is prepared to countersign the Lisbon Treaty, so that it can enter into force from December.

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Forward

It now looks as if the last ratification instrument will be deposited with the Italian government in Rome during November. If so, the Lisbon Treaty enters into force on the first day of the following month, i.e. 1 December 2009.

The Swedish presidency of the EU Council has promised to start formal consultation with regard to the president of the European Council and the high representative for foreign affairs and security policy on the day following Klaus’ signature, in other words tomorrow.

The leaders of the EU member states will probably meet at an extra European Council next week.

At the same time they need to discuss the nominations for the Commission with president-elect José Manuel Barroso, in order to set the stage for the hearings by the European Parliament, which must approve the new Commission as a body, before it can be formally appointed.

The old Commission and high representative Javier Solana should have been allowed to quit on 31 October, but they will probably have to continue until the end of the year.

In Britain, the Conservative Party leadership’s promise to arrange a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, as long as it has not entered into force – even if dependent only on the whim of a solitary man against the democratic will of 27 national parliaments – now adorns the scrap heap of history (save for the technical details).

According to news reports, Tory leader David Cameron is expected to announce the new party line tomorrow. It is going to be a difficult moment between the remaining shreds of Tory political realism with regard to Britain’s European partners and the anti-EU hardliners among the Conservative Party’s MPs and members as well as the British electorate.



Ralf Grahn



P.S. Follow interesting Euroblogs on multilingual Bloggingportal.eu.

EU Lisbon Treaty cleared by Czech Court

“Lisbon Treaty in line with Czech Constitution – court”, reports Czech Happenings (3 November 2009).


The Czech Constitutional Court in Brno has issued a press release as well as the core sentences of its judgment in English. (More is promised shortly.) The judgment does a great deal to lessen the constitutional crisis in the Czech Republic.

***

All the political and legal obstacles raised by president Vaclav Klaus (and his allies) have now been removed.

The European Union is waiting impatiently for the Lisbon Treaty to enter into force.



Ralf Grahn

EU Lisbon Treaty: Trick or treat(y)?

“Trick or treat?”, asked president Vaclav Klaus, and 27 member state governments (including his own) obliged by granting the Czech Republic an opt-out from the Charter of fundamental rights of the European Union.


Presidency conclusions

This is how the Presidency conclusions of the European Council 29 to 30 October 2009 (document 15265/09) settle the issue (page 1 to 2):


I. Institutional issues

1. The European Council welcomes the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon by Germany, Ireland and Poland, which means that it has now been approved by the people or the parliaments of all 27 Member States.

2. The European Council recalls that the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon requires ratification by each of the 27 Member States in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements. It reaffirms its determination to see the Treaty enter into force by the end of 2009, thus allowing it to develop its effects in the future.

On this basis, and taking into account the position taken by the Czech Republic, the Heads of State or Government have agreed that they shall, at the time of the conclusion of the next Accession Treaty and in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements, attach the Protocol (in Annex I) to the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

In this context, and with regard to legal application of the Treaty of Lisbon and its relation to legal systems of Member States, the European Council confirms that:

a) The Treaty of Lisbon provides that "competences not conferred upon the Union in the Treaties remain with the Member States" (Art. 5(2) TEU);

b) The Charter is "addressed to the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union with due regard for the principle of subsidiarity and to the Member States only when they are implementing Union law" (Art. 51(1) Charter).

***

Annex I with the text of the protocol appears on page 14 of the presidency conclusions:

ANNEX I

PROTOCOL ON THE APPLICATION OF THE CHARTER OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION TO THE CZECH REPUBLIC

The Heads of State or Government of the 27 Member States of the European Union, taking note of the wish expressed by the Czech Republic,

Having regard to the Conclusions of the European Council,

Have agreed on the following Protocol :


Article 1

Protocol No 30 on the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union to Poland and to the United Kingdom shall apply to the Czech Republic.


Article 2

The Title, Preamble and operative part of Protocol No 30 shall be modified in order to refer to the Czech Republic in the same terms as they refer to Poland and to the United Kingdom.


Article 3

This Protocol shall be annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.


***


Swedish Council Presidency



Swedish prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt thanked his colleagues for clearing the final political hurdle to the Lisbon Treaty:

"I am pleased to announce that the European Council has this evening agreed to accept the exemption that the President of the Czech Republic has requested in order to be able to ratify the Treaty of Lisbon. We succeeded in reaching this agreement thanks to the many EU leaders who showed leadership and a strong willingness to cooperate.”


***

EU minister Cecilia Malmström noted on her blog:



“The Lisbon Treaty was moved yet another step closer to its entry into force last night, as European leaders agreed to grant the Czech Republic a clarification, which will satisfy the Czech government and the concerns of the country’s President Vaclav Klaus.

While not at all an ”opt-out” from the entire Charter of Fundamental Rights, as it has sometimes been described, EU leaders agreed that the Czech Republic will accede to the protocol previously agreed for Poland and the UK, which clarifies the contents of the Charter and its relation to national legislation.”

***

Vaclav Klaus



Having got his candy, Czech Happenings report that “Klaus not to raise further conditions before Lisbon signature” (30 October 2009). The article refers to a press release by the president’s spokesman Radim Ochvat.



Despite approval by 27 national governments and as many national parliaments, opponents of representative democracy have continued their campaign against the Lisbon Treaty. Yesterday, Kent Ekeroth from the extreme right Sweden Democrats (Sverigedemokraterna, SD) handed a petition with some 20,000 signatures to a representative of Klaus.




The fascistoid Sverigedemokraterna offers no translation of its name, so it has been called Swedish Democrats and Sweden’s National Democrats in various news items, which inform us that they, together with other nasties, Hungary's Jobbik, France's National Front, Italy's Three-Colour Flame and Belgium's National Front have formed the Alliance of European National Movements on Saturday and say they expect parties from Britain, Austria, Spain and Portugal to join them soon.


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No to social and employment rights



The leader of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), Mirek Topolanek, said that the opt-out did not mean any shift in the position on the Benes decrees.

The ODS leader, whose party sits in the anti-integrationist European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group in the European Parliament, together with the UK Conservatives and the Polish Law and Justice Party (PiS), expresses his satisfaction for a totally different reason. According to ex prime minister Topolanek:


"We will not be committed to fulfil comprehensive social rights of the third generation. This relates to the increased protection of employees in the event of sacking, higher demands for welfare and conditions of collective bargaining."


Unions and social democrats have been less enthusiastic.


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Demonstrations




Yesterday, a group of about 15 demonstrators ─ UKIP, UK Conservatives and others flying Czech colours ─ in Brussels urged president Klaus not to sign the Lisbon Treaty. On Wednesday, about 200 had demonstrated in Prague.


***


Forward



The Czech Constitutional Court in Brno deals with the Lisbon Treaty Tuesday, 3 November 2009, which is the earliest day for a resolution on the complaints filed by 17 Czech Senators, defeated in the democratic arena.

After the substantially unfounded concession, but face-saving for president Vaclav Klaus, the Lisbon Treaty can finally be ratified by the Czech Republic, if the Constitutional Court rejects the complaints.

If the ratification instrument is deposited with the Italian government during November, the Lisbon Treaty could enter into force from 1 December 2009.



When the following EU Accession Treaty is concluded, the political promise made to the Czech Republic would be formally enshrined, somewhat shamefully distancing the country from the community of values formed around the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The effect – including social and employment principles – is more symbolic than real, but the Czech will find themselves in the company of the United Kingdom and Poland.



According to the prime minister of Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Juncker, the Swedish presidency of the EU Council will start consultations on the top jobs (president of the European Council and high representative for foreign affairs and security policy) the day after president Klaus signs the ratification instrument. An extra summit will be convened, most likely in November.

In principle, the new Commission should take over tomorrow, 1 November 2009, but the Council still needs to agree with the president-elect, José Manuel Barroso, on the list of members. Some member states have not made their proposals yet. The European Parliament then arranges hearings with the proposed commissioners, before giving its consent to the Commission as a body. After that, the European Council makes the formal appointments. Even if the European Parliament does not reject the proposed Commission, 1 January 2010 seems to be the earliest possible date for entry into office.

Almost a decade has passed since the European leaders acknowledged that the Treaty of Nice was an unsatisfactory quick fix and that the treaty reform process had to continue, in the Nice declaration (23) on the future of the Union...

The Treaty of Lisbon is a step forward, but Europe’s new challenges have emerged and developed much faster than the structure of the European Union.



Ralf Grahn

With Vaclav Klaus only seeing is believing

Vaclav Klaus’ “heroic” stand against the EU Treaty of Lisbon was draining away his support faster than you can say General Custer. What were his options?



Yesterday, 17 October 2009, Czech Happenings published main points of the interview Czech President Vaclav Klaus had given to the Lidove noviny paper.

Klaus now seems to believe that the EU’s Treaty of Lisbon will enter into force, and it looks as if he is going to be content with face-saving “Irish road” assurances, instead of re-ratification.


***


Facts and views



“Czech leader resigned to treaty”, reports the BBC, speaking of increasing signs from Prague Castle that Klaus’ battle may be lost.



“Klaus, fin de partie”, is the headline on the Coulisses de Bruxelles blog. Jean Quatremer notes that Klaus is not going to wait for the general election in Great Britain.

Contrary to Klaus’ assertion that Lisbon has advanced too far for a retreat, Quatremer remarks with some irony that the reform treaty offers a procedure for secession, but Klaus wanted to do it without consulting the citizens.



In a Bloomberg report, written by Andrea Dudikova, EU Commission spokesman Michele Cercone makes the observation that Klaus did not say that he will sign the Lisbon Treaty ratification.


***


English scene


The English anti-EU scene is trying to get to grips with the new situation. In The Telegraph, Christopher Booker laments the Czech President as a fallen hero, in “Vaclav Klaus, the only leader who dared stand up to Europe”.

Anti-integrationist commentators have been quick to realise that the foundation for the Lisbon referendum promised by David Cameron and William Hague has eroded.



If the Czech Constitutional Court rejects the new legal challenges and the Czech Republic finally ratifies the Lisbon Treaty, the Conservative Party’s EU policy enters uncharted “we won’t let matters rest there” territory.

The Klaus peg was amoral, but convenient for the Tories, who now feel the pressure building up.

Or should Cameron and Hague still hope, knowing Klaus’ erratic behaviour and that in his case only seeing is believing?



Ralf Grahn

EU Lisbon Treaty: Vaclav Klaus was losing support

On 17 October 2009 Czech Happenings reported a new SANEP poll, which indicated that President Vaclav Klaus was rapidly losing support for his rejection of the Treaty of Lisbon.

Some 58 percent ─ up 14 percentage points from the beginning of October ─ were of the view that Klaus’ attitude was harming the Czech Republic's position within the EU and that he should sign the Lisbon Treaty instantly.



The recorded result explains the earlier SANEP poll and it is in line with the STEM agency poll we mentioned in yesterday’s blog post “EU Lisbon Treaty: Czech polls stink”. This makes the contradictory Median agency poll ─ hugely supportive of Klaus’ obstruction ─ look even more of an inexplicable aberration.


***


Klaus had cast the role of the heroic defender of the national interest for himself, but the Czechs increasingly saw him as an embarrassment. What could he do?



Ralf Grahn

EU Lisbon Treaty: Czech polls stink

Czech Happenings reported on a SANEP poll, which said that 43 per cent of Czechs think that President Vaclav Klaus should immediately sign the EU’s Treaty of Lisbon, and 44 percent of people were convinced that postponing the signature harms the Czech Republic's name within the EU.



Soon afterwards, Czech Happenings reported on another poll, by the STEM agency, which found that three fifths of the Czechs were of the opinion that Klaus harms the Czech Republic by postponing his signature on the Lisbon treaty to complete its ratification, and three fifths said that Klaus should sign the EU reform treaty immediately after the Constitutional Court confirms that the document is in compliance with the Czech constitutional order.

***


Median agency poll



Suddenly, Czech Happenings reports on a Median agency poll, which tells us that sixty five per cent of Czechs support President Vaclav Klaus’ crusade against the Lisbon Treaty. Three quarters think that Klaus should not resign, if he does not sign the treaty.


***


Professionalism or propaganda?


First, we notice a difference of almost 20 percentage points between the SANEP and the STEM polls, even if both seem to underline the public understanding for President Vaclav Klaus to end his obstruction and to stop harming his country.

But these differences pale into insignificance, when confronted with the Median poll, which reads like a ringing endorsement of President Klaus’ action (and which unsurprisingly has been trumpeted by some anti-EU campaigners).

The huge discrepancies cast a doubt on the professionalism and work ethics of Czech pollsters. Are they more than paid agents in propaganda wars?

Can anyone ─ including the agencies in question ─ offer plausible explanations?



Ralf Grahn

EU Lisbon Treaty: Honourable men

I come to bury Lisbon, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones;
So let it be with Lisbon. The noble Vaclav
Hath told you Lisbon was ambitious:
If it were so, it was a grievous fault;
And grievously hath Lisbon answer’d it.
Here, under leave of Vaclav and the rest, -
For Vaclav is an honourable man;
So are they all, all honourable men, -
Come I to speak in Lisbon’s funeral.
He was my friend, faithful and just to me:
But Vaclav says he was ambitious;
and Vaclav is an honourable man.


***

Honourable men

Knowing that 27 member states have agreed and 27 national parliaments have approved the Treaty of Lisbon, as honourable men, David Cameron and William Hague would never rest their EU policy on sabotage against parliamentary authority by Czech president Vaclav Klaus, surely?


Knowing that national governments and national parliaments want the Lisbon Treaty, and that they make the most important decisions in the European Union, as an honourable man, David Hannan would never misrepresent them as Eurocrats, surely?


***

Sober analysis



Eurostein on Adjudicating Europe adds a sober reminder to the actors involved in the Lisbon Treaty ratification difficulties:

“Being too lenient on this kind of unilateral statist exceptionalism, which lacks any principled argumentative foundation, could bring about an avalanche of similar actions in the future.”



According to Czech Happenings, former President Vaclav Havel has said that Klaus with his attitude harmed the country, his arguments were anachronistic and unconvincing.



Ralf Grahn

EU Lisbon Treaty: Czech or European solution?

On this blog, we have expressed some doubts about the robustness of the Czech constitutional system, in plain crisis. In the European Voice, Adam Drda adds his observations on how president Vaclav Klaus is stoking up irrational fears and pulling the Czech political scene apart.


***


Czech Commissioner



According to Czech Happenings, the Parliament has heard the candidates put forward by the political parties to become the Czech member of the EU Commission.

*

With the Commission’s term of office ending 31 October 2009, the Czech constitutional crisis concerns all EU member states. We do not know if every member state will get a Commissioner under the Lisbon Treaty, or if a reduced Commission must be appointed according to the Treaty of Nice.


***


“Unconstitutional behaviour”



Czech News reports on a short demonstration, ended by the police, against the “unconstitutional behaviour” of president Vaclav Klaus.

Jiri Priban, an expert in EU law, is quoted as saying that Klaus obviously exceeds his competences.


***


Klaus portrait



In The Guardian, Europe editor Ian Traynor paints a portrait of president Vaclav Klaus, on a quest to stop Europe in its tracks.


***


Spurious claims



Andrew Duff MEP, in an op-ed piece in The Financial Times, discusses the substance of the fears Klaus has expressed about the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights: spurious.


***


Irish Commissioner



The Irish Times notes the uncertainty caused by president Klaus’ posturing, but encourages the government to nominate a strong Irish figure for the EU Commission.


***


Posturing Klaus



The FT Brussels blog 14 October 2009 linked to an editorial, which picked Klaus’ posturing apart in no uncertain terms.


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Trying times



These are trying times for Czech intellectuals, who see beyond the borders of their country. The Between Brussels and Gazprom blog offers two insights into the dilemma: “Vaclav and Goliath” and “Czechs are not Klaus”.


***


Moscow nights



The 15 October 2009 press survey of Czech Happenings highlights president Klaus enjoying his visit to Moscow, one of the few capitals where he is welcome.


***


Two fateful weeks


Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer has a tough job, ahead of the European Council on 29 to 30 October 2009. In two weeks the Czech constitutional system should be able to put its house in order.


If the Czech Republic fails, it forces the member states of the European Union to take responsibility for the European project, with the remaining forces.



Ralf Grahn

EU Lisbon Treaty: Clear summary of Czech problem

“Klaus keeps EU guessing on future of Lisbon Treaty – Prague is keeping the rest of the EU waiting”, is a clear EUobserver summary of an unclear situation, written by Honor Mahony.


Recommended reading for all Czech and EU citizens, with matters fast approaching crunch.



Ralf Grahn

EU Lisbon Treaty: Czech internal clarification

Following his meeting with Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer, EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso spoke of the need to “find a solution for the issues not yet clarified internally” in the Czech Republic.

It is no exaggeration to call it a constitutional crisis: President Vaclav Klaus has caught the Czech government and parliament by surprise by issuing new demands for signing the ratification instrument for the Lisbon Treaty, he squarely opposes the authority of the government and parliament, and his collusion with internal opponents and foreign politicians undermines faith in the democratic institutions of the Czech Republic.

It looks as if the government still does not know exactly, what President Klaus’ demand is, although it is clear that the reasons he has expressed in public are false.

If the democratically legitimate institutions in the Czech constitutional system fail to assert themselves, Klaus will shift a parliamentary democracy into something akin to a presidential democracy, although he has been elected by parliament, not the citizens.

Time is precious before the European Council on 29 to 30 October 2009, because the internal clarifications need to leave room for the EU member states to assess the proposed solutions and to respond to the challenge.

If the Czech Republic fails, the member states of the European Union will have to find ways to bring the rest of the union forward.



Ralf Grahn

Czech refusal and new complaint over EU Lisbon Treaty

I will not sign Lisbon Treaty, says Czech president Vaclav Klaus, according to Times Online.


***

Extended legal challenge



Jiri Oberfalzer and 16 other Czech senators, defeated in the democratic arena and already partially in the Czech Constitutional Court, intend to extend their request. The precise comments will be revealed only after the new challenge has been deposited, reports Czech Happenings.

***

If further proof was needed, Vaclav Klaus has sent the Czech government and the EU member states on a wild goose chase.

Klaus is getting support from his henchmen.

***

The Czech constitutional crisis is a fact, even if the government has last spoken about efforts to find a solution.

The European Union is in an institutional crisis, which exposes the weaknesses of its structures.

Two political entities are blackmailed because of their inadequate structures.

***

How long are the Czech Republic and the European Union going to accept the role of victims in this comedy?

When do they start putting robust structures into place?



Ralf Grahn

Central Europe’s security

An interesting column as Europe is trundling down the prolonged obstacle course designed by Czech president Vaclav Klaus against the final ratification of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty.



The Lisbon treaty, in its essence, is designed to put more muscle behind European diplomacy. That is what Central Europe needs, not a misguided missile-defense plan, writes Bloomberg News columnist Celestine Bohlen (12 October 2009).

***

Any chance of Klaus listening to anyone but himself?



Ralf Grahn

Vaclav Klaus reversing Orwell

Since the EUSSR is a favourite dystopian expression for the European Union among supporters of Czech president Vaclav Klaus, let us take a look through the prism of George Orwell’s “Animal Farm”.



We already know that during the negotiations leading to the Lisbon Treaty, the United Kingdom and Poland negotiated exemptions from the Charter of fundamental rights of the European Union.

The EU Charter does not create new rights, but makes existing ones from various sources more visible.

Thus, the UK and Polish exemptions carry little legal weight, but they are powerful political statements from governments vary of rights for their residents.

In addition, Protocol (No 30) tells us that Britain and Poland want to stay on the fringes of the EU community of values.

More than two years after the negotiations started, with the Lisbon Treaty already democratically approved in all 27 EU member states, Czech president Vaclav Klaus has surprised his country’s government and everyone else, by demanding a similar exemption.

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Equality?

All EU citizens are equal, but some EU citizens are less equal than others, seems to be the motto of president Klaus.

He wants his citizens to join the less equal on the outskirts of the community of values.



He explains his sudden demand with imagined fears, although the Czech Constitutional Court has declared that the EU Charter is compatible with the Czech Constitution.

***


True reasons?

If Klaus’ reasoning is false, it raises the question of his true motives.


If you read the latest EurActiv story and the fresh EUobserver article on how Klaus’ aide Ladislav Jakl has presented the ultimatum, there is little evidence of any will to solve the stated problem.


***


In between



The Czech government, caught unawares, sits uncomfortably between Klaus’ political blackmail and its will to secure the last ratification before the end of the year.

Czech Happenings reports that the government wants to negotiate with the president’s office and the European Union, but it also wants guarantees that Klaus is not going to throw new spanners into the works.


***

I feel sorry for Prime Minister Jan Fischer and his government.



Ralf Grahn

Vaclav Klaus demands the imaginary and the impossible

EurActiv has some additional information about the latest condition by Czech President Vaclav Klaus to sign the ratification instrument for the EU Treaty of Lisbon, in “Klaus links EU treaty signature to WWII claims” (12 October 2009).

According to the story, Klaus's aide Ladislav Jakl said on Sunday the president demanded a binding guarantee and a political declaration by the EU, insisting that an easier way forward would not be sufficient.

***

Impossible

If Klaus demands an instant treaty change, at this late hour, it is impossible. It would require a new round of ratifications, it would deprive Czech citizens of the rights enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and it would force the EU member states to nominate a new Commission under the Nice Treaty rules, as well as continue with the unreformed institutions.

***

Imaginary

Klaus’ fears are imaginary, as the Czech government has told him.

This is further proof of his lack of good faith.

***

New demands?

Klaus has been inventing objections, as the need arises. At no time has Klaus convinced anyone that he would stop producing new obstacles.

***

Abuse of powers

At this moment, I do not know the Czech government’s intentions today or later, but there are no indications that Klaus wants to solve the Czech constitutional crisis (or the EU’s institutional crisis) amicably.

This has become a test for the Czech parliamentary democracy.

If the President is unable to fulfil his constitutional duties, the only practicable solution seems to be to depose him, before he causes his country more damage. It takes a resolution by Parliament, and the powers would be taken over by the Prime Minister.

Article 66 of the Czech Constitution states:

If the office of the Presidency becomes vacant and before a new President of the Republic has been elected or has taken the oath of office, likewise if the President of the Republic is, for serious reasons, incapable of performing his duties. and if the Assembly of Deputies and the Senate adopt a resolution to this effect, the performance of the presidential duties under Article 63, paragraph 1, letters a), b), c), d), e), h), i), j) and Article 63, paragraph 2 shall devolve upon the Prime Minister. In any period in which the Prime Minister is performing the above-specified presidential duties, the performance of the duties under Article 62, letters a), b), c), d), e), k) and l) shall devolve upon the Chairperson of the Assembly of Deputies; if the office of the Presidency becomes vacant during a period in which the Assembly of Deputies is dissolved, the performance of these functions shall devolve upon the Chairperson of the Senate.

***

The reasons are serious enough, and so is Klaus’ abuse of power.



Ralf Grahn

Roundup on Czech constitutional crisis over EU Lisbon Treaty

Here are some news and comments about the Czech constitutional crisis, caused by President Vaclav Klaus’ refusal to sign the ratification instrument of the EU’s Treaty of Lisbon.


First a general reference to the copious information about the Lisbon Treaty, including the ratification process, among the 1,300 plus posts on this blog. Look for the latest in the side bar, or use the search function for older entries.


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Background note



See an excellent background picture, in “All eyes on Czech Euro-skeptic president as EU reform treaty nears ratification (Breaking News 24/7, possibly lifted from the Associated Press, 11 October 2009).


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Out of step?



Once again it is far from clear that Mr Klaus is in step with his fellow citizens, says Cleves Commentary (10 October 2009), in “Lisbon: Is Klaus the Democratic Saviour of Europe or the Anti-Democrat of the Czech Republic”.


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EU position



Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt of Sweden, the current holder of the EU Council Presidency, laid out the position of the member states of the European Union, at the ceremony where Poland’s President Lech Kaczynski signed the ratification instrument, in “A step closer to the Lisbon Treaty” (Swedish Presidency, 10 October 2009):

"Now Poland has joined the rest of the countries of Europe to move the European cooperation forward based on a new treaty. A Treaty that will better reflect this new union of 27 countries and a Treaty that will embrace the openness to new members.

With the Polish approval, all obstacles to the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty have been removed in 26 of the EU's 27 Member States. Now only the Czech Republic remains. The Treaty is there being examined in the country’s Constitutional Court and then, President Vaclav Klaus has to sign.

Today, President Kaczynskis signature brings us one step closer to a new Treaty. However, the Czech Republic still needs to complete its ratification of the Treaty through a signature by President Klaus. Europe eagerly awaits this to happen."


***



Czech emergency meeting



David Charter. in “Czech Cabinet in emergency session to force President Klaus to sign Lisbon treaty” (Times Online, 12 October 2009).

Czech constitutional experts set out several options before today’s Cabinet meeting in Prague.


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Breach of confidentiality?



Ceskenoviny.cz has a clarifying item on Klaus’ accusation that Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, acting President of the EU Council, disclosed confidential information: “Reinfeldt dismisses Klaus' words that their talk was confidential” (Czech Happenings, 11 October 2009).


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Neverending demands?



Lasse Rune Hansen wonders if Klaus is going to continue raisin new objections to the Lisbon Treaty. The leaders of the other states simply have to reject Klaus’ demand, in “Václav Klaus: forbehold overfor Charteret om Grundlæggende Rettigheder” (in Danish, EUbloggen.eu, undated)


***


Face saving or sabotage?



It is questionable whether Klaus would be satisfied with a mere statement/protocol - he is clearly either going for a political face-saving victory or for a sabotage, reasons Whatseuropinion?, in “Lisbon Treaty’s prospects with one man away from ratification” (11 October 2009).

If the Czech government does not swing behind Klaus, it must confront him at home.


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Freedom to exit



« Le Président Vaclav Klaus contre le traité de Lisbonne « is a long post in French (Europe mon bon souci, 11 October 2009), where Noëlle Lenoir remarks that Vaclav Klaus seems to have become a dissident only after the fall of Communism. She records Klaus’ repeated delaying manoeuvres: Knowing that the renewed legal challenges by the 17 Czech Senators will be defeated, he has devised a new objection, by demanding a treaty change.

The day will come, when we will have to accept that the states unwilling to participate in the game of mutual compromises and concessions leave the European Union.


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Tory link



“British voters: Václav Klaus needs you”, on Dr Sean’s Diary (9 October 2009) ponders the possibilities for Klaus to fend off the Czech democratic institutions, until the British Conservatives arrive in power.


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The Czech government and parliament have a fundamental task at hand: They need to solve the constitutional crisis brought upon the Czech Republic through the machinations of Vaclav Klaus. This will be a test of Czech parliamentary democracy.



Ralf Grahn

What is to be done about Vaclav Klaus?

The speeches, actions and possible further obstruction by Czech President Vaclav Klaus with regard to the amending Treaty of Lisbon of the European Union give rise to two important questions.

The questions are linked, but one concerns the Czech Republic, the other one the EU and its member states.

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Czech constitutional crisis

What can and should the Czech Republic do to solve its constitutional crisis?

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EU institutional crisis

What can and should the European Union and its member states do to solve the institutional crisis?

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In both cases, we need to think about institutional weaknesses (“liberum veto”) and the need for robust structures, highlighted by Vaclav Klaus’ lonely stand against the entry into force of the EU Lisbon Treaty, democratically approved by all 27 member states.



Ralf Grahn

Vaclav Klaus and the EUSSR

The Czech President Vaclav Klaus has famously compared the European Union with the repressive Soviet system. (See, for instance: New Europe.)

Klaus has expressed loathing of the European Union his country has joined voluntarily, and of the amending Lisbon Treaty negotiated by its government and approved by its parliament.

Klaus has refused to sign the ratification instrument, until a belated new legal challenge by his supporters to the Czech Constitutional Court brought a temporary injunction against signing.

Klaus has kindled fears that the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union could somehow reinstate the property rights of expelled ethnic Germans.

Klaus has - more than two years after the treaty negotiations started - demanded an exemption from the EU Charter.

Klaus has precipitated the Czech Republic into a severe constitutional crisis.

Klaus has caused serious problems for the EU member states and the institutions of the European Union.

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Where would Klaus be, if the European Union really functioned as the EUSSR some critics want to call it?


Ralf Grahn

Victor Hugo and Prague Castle

In ”Quatrevingt-Treize” [Ninety Three], Victor Hugo evokes the catastrophic run of a loose cannon on board The Claymore, a British corvette sent by William Pitt, the Younger, to bring succour to the 1793 royalist uprising in Brittany against republican France.

A “loose cannon” has since become a figure of speech.

Dramatis personae, 2009: David Cameron, William Hague, Vaclav Klaus.

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Prague Castle



Yesterday evening, we reported the latest move by Czech President Vaclav Klaus to derail the EU Treaty of Lisbon, democratically approved by 27 member states, the Czech Republic included, in “EU Lisbon Treaty: Erratic Presidents playing games” (8 October 2009).

By their total disregard for the democratic approval by the member states and the needs of the EU institutions, Klaus’ English friends have been supportive of any disruptive action he might invent. Participants at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester collected signatures in support of continued obstruction by Klaus.

Let us look at some of the news and comment on Klaus’ actions.



Jean Quatremer advises the Czech citizens that they should never again allow their parlamentarians to elect an irascible and uncontrollable clown as head of state, in “Traité de Lisbonne: Kaczynski signe, Klaus tergiverse” (Coulisses de Bruxelles, 8 October 2009):

« ...Klaus donne une belle leçon à ses concitoyens : la prochaine fois, ils devront veiller à ce que leurs parlementaires n’élisent plus un clown irascible et incontrôlable à la tête de l’État. »



Daniel Antal says that Vaclav Klaus is a very-very selfish man, because his obstruction to the Treaty is not in the interest of the of the Czech people; in "Klaus’ Footnote in European History" (Central Europe Activ, 8 October 2009).



EUbusiness sums up the news on Klaus’ latest ambush, in “Poland to ratify EU reform treaty but Czechs set conditions” (8 October 2009).

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The tragicomedy of Lisbon Treaty ratification shows the utter weakness of an organisation built on the “liberum veto”.

If one individual manages to cause more damage than he already has, or if he wrecks the Lisbon Treaty as it is, the member states of the European Union must abandon the requirement for ratification by all member states.

As a first step, they should redesign the EU as a union between ratifying states, with the substantive provisions of the Lisbon Treaty.

The non-ratifying states would bear the onus of their constitutional and personal weaknesses.


Ralf Grahn

EU Lisbon Treaty: Erratic Presidents playing games

Almost 22 months after the EU Treaty of Lisbon was signed (13 December 2007), two erratic Presidents are still playing games, inventing new twists.

Spokespersons for Polish President Lech Kaczynski have kept offering the public different dates for the final signature of the ratification instrument. The latest guesses are Saturday or Sunday.

In the Czech Republic President Vaclav Klaus refused to take any calls from Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt for several days after the Irish Lisbon 2009 referendum result became clear.

When Klaus finally did speak with Reinfeldt today, he had added a new excuse to the delay caused by the renewed legal challenges by his pals to the Czech Constitutional Court.

Klaus now requires a two line “footnote” to the amending treaty, somehow related to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

(The United Kingdom and Poland have opted out of the EU Charter, which embodies the fundamental freedoms and rights of EU citizens, but the Czech Republic has not opted out of the Charter.)



Among others, the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter and the BBC have reported on the new turn of events, but the contents and the legal status of the new demand are still unclear.



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The 27 member states of the European Union have been forced to send the old Commission and the High Representative Javier Solana into injury time, and they are anxious to get the institutions up and running.

Something is rotten in the state of the constitutional systems in Poland and the Czech Republic.



Ralf Grahn