The Prague Post Online: News: Klaus vs. Merkel: Round one over

November 20th, 2008

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Klaus vs. Merkel: Round one over

Constitution struggle underscores the EU's anniversary celebrations

By Hilda Hoy
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
March 28th, 2007 issue

While merrymakers packed downtown Berlin March 25 and politicians gave speeches extolling the European Union’s 50-year history, the event was also underscored by a clash between one of the EU’s strongest supporters and its strongest skeptic.

For the celebrations marking a half-century since Europe’s first economic block was formed, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, currently the EU’s rotating president, had wanted countries to pledge commitment to select issues. High on Merkel’s agenda is a common EU constitution.

Nobody had balked more at the Berlin Declaration than Czech President Václav Klaus.

In the end, Klaus, like all 27 EU leaders, signed. But not before complaining about having only 24 hours to look it over — calling the scenario “a classic example of lack of democracy” — and not until a phone call from Merkel March 23, the Czech News Agency (ČTK) reported. He didn’t want to be a “troublemaker,” he told reporters at the event.

The declaration, however, did not contain the explicit constitution pledge Merkel had wanted.

The struggle over the declaration was a game of tug of war between pro-integration Germany and skeptics such as Klaus, said Hugo Brady, a research fellow at the London-based Center for European Reform. It was to be expected, given that Klaus is “one of Europe’s best-known Euroskeptics,” Brady said, using a the pet term for opponents of strong EU ties.

“The Germans really didn’t get their way. It got slightly pulled over the other way at the last minute. Clearly the Euroskeptics like Klaus … were saying, ‘Nothing’s going to get past us to give you momentum for [the constitution],’ ” Brady said.

Vladimíra Dvořáková, a political scientist at Prague’s University of Economics, says this was only a limited victory for Klaus and the Euroskeptic ruling Civic Democrats (ODS).

The Germans compromised by using vague wording, but “the content is still there. They just didn’t use the specific words unacceptable to the Czechs,” namely “constitution.”

European Affairs Minister Alexandr Vondra (ODS) told ČTK March 23 that the government was pleased with Germany’s compromise. But it’s a bittersweet victory, Dvořáková said.

“The value of the EU is to find compromise and consensus. If there is a hard-line position by one state, it could harm that state.”

Hilda Hoy can be reached at hhoy@praguepost.com

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