The Czech EU presidency ended unsuccessfully before its term, MEP Jana Hybášková (EDP) wrote in her blog in reaction to the collapse of the Czech government. She said the main purpose of the Czech EU presidency was to show that Europe was politically correct and united and that, 20 years after the fall of the Iron Curtain, a former Warsaw Pact member was able to head the EU. The Czech Republic was the first Eastern Bloc state to be given this opportunity. But it failed. No EU policy has been implemented or decided under the Czechs’ ruling.
The Czech government’s collapse shows that small countries are not able to preside over the EU. European law expert Andrew Duff said small countries can forget about holding the rotating presidency. The Czech EU presidency crisis is to weaken the country’s position in Europe, said Hybášková, a chairwoman of the European Parliament delegation for relations with Israel.
President Václav Klaus doesn’t see the current situation as a problem. He said that the recent fall of Mirek Topolánek’s cabinet, the formation of an interim cabinet and a snap election could have a positive effect, mainly because of different measures to be taken to tackle the economic crisis.
Furthermore, the government’s fall is likely to delay the Lisbon Treaty ratification, which is something Klaus, the leading EU opponent, has been striving for. Without the reform treaty, the EU will not strengthen its international position, says Hybášková.
And what do you think about Czech politics, anyway? A Monitor reader writes that Klaus and Paroubek are in politics only for personal gain and neither one of them can make an honest, decent decision for the people they serve. Do you agree?
Email us at: [email protected] or comment below.
