Foreign minister says Czechs should help save the euro

Prague, Dec 11 (CTK) - Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg (TOP 09) admitted in a TV debate yesterday that the Czech government would nod to the loan for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in support of the fight against the economic crisis.

The Czech government does not have many other possibilities but to confirm to the IMF in a given deadline that it is willing to provide further sources within the measures to rescue the euro, Schwarzenberg said in the Questions of Vaclav Moravec discussion programme on Czech Television (CT).

Out of the 200 billion euros in total, the Czech Republic should contribute with 3.5 billion euros (an equivalent of 89 billion crowns).

Schwarzenberg's opponent in the TV debate, opposition Social Democrat (CSSD) chairman Bohuslav Sobotka, said if the government decided to participate in the core of European integration, it could reckon with the CSSD's support.

The country's prosperity is at stake, he stressed, adding that the sum would return to the Czech Republic in the form of EU subsidies within two years.

Public Affairs (VV), the smallest government party, is opposed to the loan of billions of crowns for the fight with the crisis.

"We cannot agree with it unless a number of mistakes made by bankers of several European banks were punished," VV chairman Radek John told the media.

"Not only 90 billion crowns are at stake, but also the level of independence of our budget, tax and economic policy for tens of years ahead," said VV deputy group head Vit Barta.

Prime Minister Petr Necas, chairman of the senior ruling Civic Democrats (ODS), said after the EU summit of Friday that it is yet to be decided whether the Czech Republic will join the newly emerging European intergovernmental treaty on rescuing the euro.

He said all would depend on the final version of the document, from which only the main provisions are known for now.

Most of the EU states agreed at the summit talks on the new reform treaty, except for Britain and Hungary who refused to join, and the Czechs and the Swedes who will consider it further.

Schwarzenberg is of the view that Necas's stance would not be negative.

"I am convinced that the prime minister is aware of the enormous responsibility that he now bears for the future of the Czech Republic, and he knows that the Czech Republic must not and cannot be isolated in Europe. This would be a very steep path going down," Schwarzenberg pointed out.

The Czech government should debate with legislators in parliament the possibility of the Czech Republic joining the rescue of the euro zone, Schwarzenberg also said.

However, it is not an issue for a big debate but it should be discussed mainly in committees and in the deputy and senator groups, he added.

Sobotka said he would not be against such a debate.

Moreover, the CSSD called on the centre-right government this week to stir up nationwide debates on the participation in the euro zone rescue.

The VV shares this opinion.

"The variants considered for the Czech Republic must be solved both in the government coalition and with the public and experts. I cannot imagine that such a serious decision would be made only by the votes of the CSSD and TOP 09," Barta said.

Sobotka said the Social Democrats would welcome if the taxation of financial transactions and the unification of taxes were a part of the agreement to prevent "a tax contest."

However, Schwarzenberg disagreed with it. He said he would consider it disadvantageous. Every country should keep its comparative advantage, he added.

"It is really high time for the EU to set clear democratic rules for the adoption of all decision," Schwarzenberg said.

Two big countries came to agreement and they forced the others to accept it, Schwarzenberg said about the recent EU summit decision-making.

Sobotka is of the view that a referendum should be held in the Czech Republic if the new EU agreement meant a significant transfer of powers from the national level to Brussels.

Schwarzenberg said he did not support a referendum, he would not consider it suitable in this case.

From his own experience, he knows that professional politicians were able to understand the changes only after some time, so it would be rather demanding to want competent decision-making from citizens, Schwarzenberg concluded.

($1=19.037 crowns)