EU clears Lisbon opt-out

European Union foreign ministers agreed Oct. 12 to allow the Czech Republic to opt out of the Charter of Fundamental Rights included in the Lisbon Treaty, all but assuring Croatia's easy accession to the EU, which had been in danger of being torpedoed by a political dispute in Prague.

At a meeting in Luxembourg, the foreign ministers gave provisional approval of the so-called "Czech Protocol" a measure demanded by President Václav Klaus in 2009 before the Czech Republic became the final EU member state to approve the Lisbon Treaty. In lieu of altering the Lisbon Treaty, EU leaders had given tentative approval to include the provision in the next EU treaty, which is now the Croatian accession agreement.

The opt-out still needs be approved by Czech Parliament. In June, Croatia received unofficial approval to join the EU as its 28th member, and at the time Prime Minister Petr Nečas said he intended to submit the opt-out measure - which both the opposition Social Democrats (ČSSD) and Communists (KSČM) staunchly oppose - tied to the Croatian accession treaty vote. Given the ČSSD's majority in the Senate, the upper house of Parliament, submitting both at the same time threatened to derail Croatia's accession as party leaders vowed to reject the dual measure.

In more recent weeks, the prime minister is said to have backed off of his original plan to tie the two votes together, and Croatia's accession is expected to be ratified by Parliament.

Foreign Affairs Minister Karel Schwarzenberg urged opponents of the opt-out to approve both measures.

"If they refuse it, it won't bring us any glory, and it will be their fault that they harmed something the Czech Republic strived for," he said. "My job as a foreign affairs minister is to push through what our president negotiated."

The opt-out is expected to be ratified by the leaders of the EU's 27 member states at the upcoming EU Summit in Brussels, which begins Oct. 23.

Klaus originally requested the opt-out, arguing the Charter of Fundamental Rights would allow ethnic Germans to reclaim property confiscated from the Sudetenland region in the aftermath of World War II as part of the controversial Beneš Decrees, which saw property of ethnic Germans, Hungarians and Nazi collaborators seized.

ČSSD officials have denounced Klaus' theory as a "nationalist fantasy."

During a recent trip to Prague, the speaker of Croatia's Parliament, Luka Bebić, said he does not expect his country's EU accession to hit snags on the differences of opinion on the opt-out among the Czech Republic's governing coalition and opposition.

"We are firmly convinced the Czech opt-out from the Lisbon Treaty will not affect the ratification and that both houses … will pass the accession treaty without any problems," he told journalists in September.

Croatia is scheduled to officially join the EU in 2013. The accession treaty must be ratified by all EU countries. Croatia will hold its own referendum on joining the EU after the accession-treaty signing ceremony, which is scheduled to be held in Warsaw Dec. 19.

Jack Buehrer can be reached at
jbuehrer@praguepost.com