HN: Gov't unable to back its 'no' to EU fiscal pact

Prague, Feb 2 (CTK) - The Czech government has no serious, convincing arguments to support its rejection of the EU fiscal pact, therefore it uses an alleged threat to national sovereignty as a substitute argument, economist Tomas Sedlacek writes in daily Hospodarske noviny yesterday.

It is actually amusing to watch Czech Eurosceptic politicians' reactions to reasonable proposals made by the EU. They always seek ways to excuse Prague's decision not to join in, Sedlacek, from the government's national economic council NERV, writes.

This is a big problem for Czech leaders, as the Czech policy pursued by President Vaclav Klaus and most recently also by the government of Petr Necas (Civic Democrats, ODS), is categorically opposed to anything beginning with "E," which smacks of Europe, integration, cooperation and anything that is not purely Czech and monocultural, Sedlacek says.

The Czech rejection of the EU fiscal discipline pact at the Brussels summit on Monday was a sad example of this approach, he continues.

No matter that Klaus, former prime minister and an economist by training, previously called for similar fiscal measures to be adopted on the Czech level, Sedlacek writes.

No matter that Necas's senior ruling ODS promoted similar measures in its 2010 election manifesto and has repeatedly pledged to introduce resolute fiscal rules since. No matter that the ODS has failed to fulfil its promise, Sedlacek writes.

No matter that the NERV has been tirelessly and unanimously proposing such measures since its establishment three years ago, Sedlacek writes.

By acceding to the fiscal pact, Czech leaders could have fulfilled their previous vow, which would help them score points. Unfortunately, the project has been proposed by the EU, Sedlacek writes.

The Czech rejection of the project, which is a unique chance of preventing further growth of the country's debts, must drive all economists and politicians into despair, Sedlacek writes.

To evade the fiscal pact, the Czech government had two possible ways to react to it. Either it could attack the plan from the right and criticise it as too soft. But it is not soft, and in addition the Czechs would have to prove that they have tougher and better rules to apply. However, they have nothing at all. That is why this approach really could not be taken, since it would have made Prague ridiculous even more, Sedlacek writes.

The government preferred to play the other possible card and warn that the Czech Republic would lose its sovereignty by joining the fiscal pact. This argument has always been effective in this country. However, now it is necessary to fabricate explanations for how the Czechs can lose sovereignty over something they have wanted to introduce since long ago, Sedlacek writes.

This is an awfully defensive explanation. The warnings against the Czech Republic getting dissolved in the EU as a lump of sugar were first pronounced many years ago and they rank among the discredited prophecies of which the opposite came true eventually, Sedlacek writes.

Prague's position as an EU member is more effective and stronger, and its sovereignty in influencing developments is larger than it would have been outside the EU, Sedlacek writes, pointing to Czech membership of NATO, the OECD etc.

For example, Czech ODS MEP Jan Zahradil believes, and he probably means it seriously, that Prague has expressed its sovereignty by saying "no" to the EU fiscal pact. He indicates that even if the Czechs agreed with an EU proposal, it would amount to servility, Sedlacek writes.

The more times the Czechs will say "no," the more sovereign they will be, and finally they will become the most sovereign of all, Sedlacek says in a sarcastic reaction to Zahradil.

Do all 25 countries that nodded to the EU pact lack sovereignty? he asks.

Not even the U.S. president can afford doing things as he would like to but he has to seek international support, compromises and consensus, Sedlacek continues.

Everyone understands that in the present world "a nation" can manage nothing alone, not even the big and strong Germany, the USA or the proud France. Everybody seeks coalitions and allies - how many of them do the Czechs have? It seems that there are fewer and fewer of them, while more and more countries feel embarrassed at Prague's steps, Sedlacek writes.

It is unclear where the government wants to steer the Czech Republic and its economy - away from the core of Europe or towards the core of Europe? What its fiscal responsibility will be like? Where is it seeking allies? What are the aims of Prague? Does it want a strong Europe or not? Sedlacek asks.

Fortunately, President Klaus's answers to these questions are far more comprehensible than the government's, Sedlacek adds in conclusion, alluding to Klaus's opposition to tighter European integration and sharp criticism of the EU fiscal discipline pact.