16-10-2009, 09:36 AM
Former president Vaclav Havel on Thursday came out very strongly
against his successor Vaclav Klaus for the latter's obstruction of the
Lisbon Treaty ratification process. Speaking at a press conference for
the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, Mr Havel called the
president's attitude irresponsible and dangerous, adding that his
failure to understand the constitution was damaging to the country and
its reputation. Mr Klaus fairly stunned pundits last week by announcing
for the first time that his endorsement would depend upon an exemption
from a part of the treaty. With the Czech Parliament having passed the
treaty earlier this year, President Klaus himself has become the sole
obstacle to final ratification of the EU-wide reform treaty, which
requires the endorsement of all 27 member states in order to take
effect. The treaty is currently the subject of a complaint submitted to
the Constitutional Court by a group of the president's allies;
President Klaus maintains that his endorsement is impossible so long as
that review is underway.
The Czech interim government has said it considers the EU's Lisbon
treaty wholly compatible with the Czech constitution. In his statement
on the matter for the Constitutional Court, Prime Minister Jan Fischer
said that the cabinet also considers the complaint itself to be
formally inadmissible, as it asks the court to exceed its own
authority, for example by reviewing the guarantees allowed for Ireland
in order to spur ratification in that country. For his part, Mr Klaus
on Thursday encouraged the public to read the complaint, and said that
he would soon release his own statement on it.
Prime Minister Fischer also said his cabinet was working with the
president to discuss the treaty exemption that Mr Klaus has stipulated.
Mr Fischer said that the desired guarantees would have to be worded
very precisely, and that a team had been put together to formulate
them. He also emphasized that the president was not the sole partner to
the discussion, but rather all 27 members of the EU, who will have to
reach an agreement on the matter at their October meeting.
against his successor Vaclav Klaus for the latter's obstruction of the
Lisbon Treaty ratification process. Speaking at a press conference for
the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, Mr Havel called the
president's attitude irresponsible and dangerous, adding that his
failure to understand the constitution was damaging to the country and
its reputation. Mr Klaus fairly stunned pundits last week by announcing
for the first time that his endorsement would depend upon an exemption
from a part of the treaty. With the Czech Parliament having passed the
treaty earlier this year, President Klaus himself has become the sole
obstacle to final ratification of the EU-wide reform treaty, which
requires the endorsement of all 27 member states in order to take
effect. The treaty is currently the subject of a complaint submitted to
the Constitutional Court by a group of the president's allies;
President Klaus maintains that his endorsement is impossible so long as
that review is underway.
The Czech interim government has said it considers the EU's Lisbon
treaty wholly compatible with the Czech constitution. In his statement
on the matter for the Constitutional Court, Prime Minister Jan Fischer
said that the cabinet also considers the complaint itself to be
formally inadmissible, as it asks the court to exceed its own
authority, for example by reviewing the guarantees allowed for Ireland
in order to spur ratification in that country. For his part, Mr Klaus
on Thursday encouraged the public to read the complaint, and said that
he would soon release his own statement on it.
Prime Minister Fischer also said his cabinet was working with the
president to discuss the treaty exemption that Mr Klaus has stipulated.
Mr Fischer said that the desired guarantees would have to be worded
very precisely, and that a team had been put together to formulate
them. He also emphasized that the president was not the sole partner to
the discussion, but rather all 27 members of the EU, who will have to
reach an agreement on the matter at their October meeting.
"Let me issue and control a nation's money and I care not who writes the laws. - Mayer Rothschild
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience! People are obedient in the face of poverty, starvation, stupidity, war, and cruelty. Our problem is that grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem!" - Howard Zinn
"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will" - Frederick Douglass
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience! People are obedient in the face of poverty, starvation, stupidity, war, and cruelty. Our problem is that grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem!" - Howard Zinn
"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will" - Frederick Douglass