Czech-British European initiative
Czech president Vaclav Klaus has always had a fondness for the conservative party in Great Britain, in large part because of its highly suspicious view of the ever-tighter integration of Europe. Klaus has spent years basking in the light of notoriety for his obstinate refusal to accept what seems to others as an inevitable move to ever-greater coordination of fiscal and monetary issues. And while he is no longer in a strictly executive function, as the Czech presidency is far more symbolic with limited levers of power, his personal influence over his former party, the ODS, is enormous.
It's hard to imagine that Klaus isn't laughing up his sleeve at the current difficulties of the European Union, but the Czech government is now pushing an initiative with Great Britain and its Conservative party on deepening Europe's common market. It's a significant counter-proposal by the two countries which have made a point of refusing to accept calls to join the European fiscal responsibility pact. Besides wanting to be seen as construction, the idea is to improve competitiveness, rather than making fiscal pledges that will ultimately be broken.
The Czech government's state secretary for European Affairs Vojtěch Belling made his point on Czech Television. “We believe – as do other EU members who will be signing up to the EU fiscal union – that the fiscal discipline treaty is not the key to boosting economic growth in Europe. The way to revitalize the European economy is to raise competitiveness and remove existing hurdles to business.”
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