By Ardit Azizaj
Czech President Klaus last remaining obstacle of a treaty that benefits the Balkan nations
Those who thought that the last obstacle of the Lisbon Treaty would be the Irish referendum might have found their selves wrong. On Oct 3rd Ireland passed the Lisbon referendum at the second time of asking with 67% of the population voting “Yes”. Last Saturday Oct 10th President of Poland Lech Kaczynski eventually signed the treaty having earlier promised to do so provided the Irish pass the referendum. However in a week that should be viewed as a good one for Lisbon Czech President Vaclav Klaus is doing his level best to throw a spanner in the works of the treaty.
The recent developments in the Czech Republic and the notorious euro skeptical nature of Vaclav Klaus, puts the future integration of Europe in question. These events might not send good messages to the countries of the Western Balkans, where the promise of future membership has been a motor of reforms in the region.
Right after the result of the second Irish referendum, many western Balkan leaders welcomed the positive result of the vote. The prime minister of Albania, Sali Berisha said “The Ireland’s ‘Yes’ vote is a major encouragement for Albanians and Albanian government for continuation of deep and all-sided reforms in achievement of standards and Albania’s EU integration”. The Macedonian Prime Minister, Nikola Gruevski also praised the result of the Irish referendum by saying that “the Lisbon Treaty creates a clearer situation in terms of EU’s enlargement; its implementation will be a plus for European countries aspiring to join the Union, including Macedonia”. Similar comments were done from the Serbian foreign Minister, Vuk Jeremić, by stating that the “positive result of the referendum opened the door to all European peoples, including those in the Western Balkans”.
Many argue that the Lisbon treaty is needed for the EU to be ready and efficient for future expansions. Even though, the treaty will increase the efficiency of the EU institutions and make the decision making easier and faster, indirectly it has impacts on enlargement. If the treaty is not ratified than the most successful policy of the EU, the enlargement policy will not be pursued. Not only are the French and the Germans going to block any further enlargement but also the EU institutions are not ready to take in any other member state. If the number of the member states within the Union is increased then its efficiency is going to be decreased.
The Treaty of Nice prepared the EU institutions for the so-called big bang expansion eastwards and it cannot absorb any other member state. As Pierre Moscovici, the former French Minister of European Affairs and a negotiator of the Treaty of Nice, says “the Treaty of Nice is designed for up to 28 member-states, after that, we’ll be in ‘no man’s land”. As it is known the countries which are promised a near membership are Croatia and Iceland, but also it should not be forgotten that the countries of the Western Balkans are also waiting in the line for the future membership. Furthermore, after a period of expansion, now it is the moment for the EU to carry out some institutional reforms that would deepen the European integration and prepare the EU for its upcoming enlargements.
Nonetheless contrary to common opinion, for President Klaus the Lisbon Treaty does not affect enlargement. During his two-day visit in Albania when asked about the relation between the future enlargements and the Lisbon Treaty ratification he answered, “the mystification that the Lisbon treaty opens the door to other countries to enter the European Union is really one of the untruths”. For him it is a treaty that deals merely with the internal working of the EU rather than the expansion towards the Western Balkans.
According to the Czech president, the Lisbon Treaty creates a democratic deficit. All the decisions are made in Brussels and usually they do not take into consideration the European citizens. Moreover, the treaty is giving more power to the European Parliament (EP). Mr. Klaus argues that giving too much power to the EP than it currently has is not a good thing to do. The EP is different from the national one where there is a majority and an opposition group. Therefore, in his point of view, the decisions taken in the halls of EP are not democratic.
The reason why the Czech president is not ratifying the Treaty goes beyond the notion of “democracy”. In a press conference that he gave on Oct 9, Klaus claimed that the treaty is in conflict with the Benes Decrees. Since the Charter of the Fundamental Rights is going to be part of the Lisbon Treaty, it will raise the demand for compensation of the German citizens who were expelled from the Sudetenland after WWII. Thus, he is asking from the European Council to add a footnote in the treaty where the decrees signed by the former Czechoslovak president, Edvard Benes, on the confiscation of property and expulsion from Czechoslovakia of three million Germans from the Sudetenland accused collectively of collaborating with the Nazi regime, will not be abolished.
This declaration has caused a lot of frustration in all member-states and the fate of the treaty is still unknown. The Swedish Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country is currently holding the presidency of the union, said that he would ask the legal institution to deal with the request of the Czech president. He also commented Klaus demand as “a bad message at the wrong time of the EU”. Meanwhile the response of the French foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, was ruthless when he said that the Lisbon Treaty is not going to change. However, the future of the Treaty is still in Vaclav Klaus’s hands, which needs to be signed so that it can come into force. Until a decision is made in regards to the Czech president’s request, it seems that the EU will still be in deadlock.
The majority of Czech politicians do not share the same opinion with their president. The current Prime Minister of the interim government, Jan Fischer, has promised and assured Brussels that the Treaty will be ratified very soon, maybe by the end of this year. In a videoconference in Wednesday, Oct 7, he said to the President of the European Commission (EC), Jose Barroso and to the Swedish Prime Minister that the “ratification of the treaty is not about the question yes or no rather than when”.
Also the chairman of the opposition party Social Democratic Party (ČSSD), Jiř
