Czech President Klaus compares EU to Soviet Union

In a blistering diatribe against the European Union and the European Parliament itself – where he was speaking – Czech President Vaclav Klaus, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency – said the bloc’s Lisbon Treaty would worsen its deficit, compared the EU to the former Soviet Union which ruled his country, and doubted the need for the parliament to exist, eliciting boos and catcalls and a walk-out by some members, including from his own country.

Klaus, who has also said global warming is a fantasy refuses to fly the EU flag over his official seat in Prague, saying the country is not an EU province, had lawmakers blinking in disbelief at his scathing attack, although he drew applause from right-wing nationalists and other anti-EU legislators sitting in the body who said he is their champion in their fight against what they fear is the growing power of the EU over some smaller and older members who don’t want to lose their national sovereignty. They don’t like Brussels meddling in their affairs, although they receive scores of millions of Euro in EU aid, none of which they have refused so far.

Nonetheless, coming from the EU presidency, the idea of attacking the body it represents in international affairs had many lawmakers reeling in anger, especially when he said the EU is as repressive as the former Soviet Union and tries to forbid dissension. “Not so long ago, in our part of Europe, we lived in a political system that permitted no alternatives and therefore also no parliamentary opposition. We learned the bitter lesson that with no opposition, there is no freedom.”

Curiously, the attack came as the Czech Parliament’s lower house gave initial approval to ratifying the Lisbon Treaty, a document Klaus termed “a tragic mistake,” although he said he would sign it only if it was approved in Ireland, which initially rejected it, but will vote on it again. Only the Czech Republic and Ireland in the 27-country bloc have yet to approve the treaty.

Since the Czech Republic took over the EU presidency from France on January 1, it has found itself foundering in trying to handle crises and suffered by comparison to French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s dynamic handling of EU and international problems, although Klaus’ country has little clout around the world in any conditions. Klaus didn’t keep in tradition by having a press conference at the European Parliament after he spoke, going to the Czech embassy instead, further iring the European lawmakers, who saw it as a slight, and embarrassing some representatives of his country. Before he left, however, Klaus had plenty to say about the EU and little of it was good.

He said the EU should concentrate on offering prosperity to Europeans instead of a tighter, more centralised government overseeing all its countries, and he said again the Lisbon Treaty should be scrapped, just like a previous EU constitution was defeated, which his critics said defeated the purpose of having a union in the first place. He said that questioning deeper integration had become an “uncriticisable assumption that there is only one possible and correct future of the European integration.”

DEFENDING EU’S DIVERSITY

“The enforcement of these notions ... is unacceptable,” Klaus said. “Those who dare thinking about a different option are labeled as enemies.” Lawmakers were aghast at Klaus’ attempt to compare the EU to the Soviet bloc. “Mr. Klaus outlined a completely twisted and manipulated view of European reality,” said Green leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit. “To seriously compare the decision- making process in the EU with that of the Soviet Union indicates that the man has lost all touch with reality.” The President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering, said Klaus’ views showed there was “an expression of the diversity in Europe,” and pointed out that “in a democracy, it’s the views of the majority that counts.” Klaus also said during his remarks that the Czech Republic, knew full well that when it joined the EU “it was not a utopian construction, put together without authentic human interests, visions, views and ideas.”

He added “for us there was and there is no alternative to European Union membership.” He added that, “We have therefore been really hurt by the repeated and growing attacks we have been facing; attacks based on the unfounded assumption that the Czechs are searching for some other integration project than the one they became members of five years ago. This is not true.” The key tasks of European integration, said the Czech president, were “to remove unnecessary - and for human freedom and prosperity counterproductive - barriers to the free movement of people, goods, services, ideas…”and “a joint care of public goods at continental level.” However, he questioned whether decision-making in Brussels was always the best way to achieve these goals, and asked MEPs “are you really convinced that every time you take a vote, you are deciding something that must be decided here in this Chamber and not closer to the citizens, i.e. inside the individual European states?”

Klaus explained that while there was no alternative to EU membership, “the methods and forms of European integration do, on the contrary, have quite a number of possible and legitimate variants.” Moreover, “claiming that the status quo, the present institutional form of the EU, is forever uncriticisable dogma, is a mistake”, as is the assumption that “there is only one possible and correct future for European integration, which is ‘ever-closer Union.’” Klaus said he believed that “attempts to speed up and deepen integration” could “endanger all the positive things achieved in Europe in the last half a century” and he urged that the situation must not be allowed “where the citizens of Member countries would live their lives with a resigned feeling that the EU is not their own, that it is developing differently than they would wish, that they are only forced to accept it.” Turning to economic aspects, he argued that “the present economic system of the EU is a system of a suppressed market, a system of a permanently strengthening centrally controlled economy” and called instead for “liberalisation and deregulation of the European economy.”

AN UPROAR ENSUES

A Czech MEP in the audience was astounded by the comments but said he was not totally caught off-guard. Richard Falbr said in a statement to New Europe that he “did not expect anything better. I left the plenary as well as the half of the MEPs. His provocations were pointless. He was aplauded by the ultra-right MEPs, others from Austria, United Kingdom and Denmark made comments which can not be published in the media." Graham Watson of the United Kingdom and ALDE group leader, said Klaus made some fair points on the importance of carrying the trust of EU citizens but was arrogant and ignorant in his depiction of the European Parliament.

“His address was controversial but frank and some of the reactions to it exaggerated. There were some kernels of truth in what President Klaus said about the distance between the voters and the EP to which MEPs should pay heed. Nonetheless, he fails to appreciate how EU democracy works, nor how the Lisbon Treaty would change it for the better.” He added that Klaus’ “assertion that democracy and freedom is more highly valued by those who experienced Communism is regrettably arrogant, as is his assertion that the current recession is due to the growth of what he called “a centrally controlled economy” in the EU. Jean Lambert of the UK said that Klaus expressed a view that political opposition is essential for democracy and got a response which was democratic by his own definition.

However, important points on how the EU functions and its relationship with citizens were overshadowed by his view that the EU functions like the old Soviet system, Lambert said. “He mistakes a search for consensus, freely undertaken, as coercion and thus oppressive. His own experience must make him aware that the two are not at all the same.” Cohn-Bendit, of Germany, made fun of Klaus and said the Czech president “seems to have perfectly timed his visit to the European parliament to fall right in the middle of the Carnival festival. To mark the occasion, the Greens would like to nominate him for a special Carnival award in recognition of his efforts as provocateur of the year. His speech to this house was a perfect source of festive amusement.” Cohn-Bendit said that Klaus “outlined a completely twisted and manipulated view of the European reality. He has demonstrated a total ignorance of the historic importance of European integration. To seriously compare the decision-making process in the European Union with that of the Soviet Union indicates that the man has lost all touch with reality.”