Hlavní strana » English Pages » Notes for the 12th Summit of…

Notes for the 12th Summit of Central European Presidents in Zagreb

English Pages, 15. 10. 2005

1. I would like to express thanks to President Mesic and his country for the invitation as well as for the perfect organization of this gathering which I consider very important. This selection of heads of states is very unique.

2. Let me also use this opportunity for announcing our ambition to organize the meeting in 2007 and to invite all of you to the Czech Republic.

3. As regards today’s topic, the concept of the European integration and of the EU institutional arrangements, I am strongly convinced that our thinking should not be guided by the misleading concept of ever-closer unification of its member states. What wee need is cooperation and friendship in Europe, what we need is the EU without barriers, without all unnecessary barriers, not the EU with strong and centralized authorities and with ambitious and intrusive policies.

4. To complete the process of European integration is not possible without including remaining European countries into the EU framework. I can inform you that the Czech Parliament will complete the ratification of accession treaties of Bulgaria and Romania in the next days and I can assure you that my signature will take only several minutes.

We are really glad that the EU negotiations with Croatia started, Mr. President, we will support you.

It would like to add that other Balkan and East European countries should have a chance as well. I would be a mistake to stop enlargement now.

5. Five countries represented here today have become last year the member-states of the EU. We can see now the EU from inside and can compare our expectations and EU-declarations with the reality and with constraints of everyday´s life. We can see all the positive things as well as some problems.

For me the main problem is a lack of political will to complete the idea of a single European market and space. What we all need is the free movement of not only goods, but also of services, capital and labour force. We should get rid of remaining barriers, of the overwhelming state protectionism, and of the obsolete paternalism of the European welfare state. I am afraid that without that Europe will not move ahead and will have problems with the developments in other regions and continents.

6. I believe that European states, represented here by their presidents, have something in common. We all know and remember that no gigantic projects or utopias could work. Almost all of us were the eye-witnesses and objects of the tragic socialist (or communist) experiment.

I believe that – because of that – we can find some common ground in saying that

a) The future of the European integration process should not be in the elimination of nation states and in new federalism, but in the renaissance of cooperation of sovereign national states based on a mutual respect both on the bilateral and multilateral levels;

b) The free circulation of not only goods, services, capital, people – including labour force – but also of ideas, of concepts and of policies, should not only be preserved but enhanced;

c) Because our countries had to experience decades of various undemocratic and totalitarian systems we are so sensitive to any situation which could remind us of bureaucratic inefficiencies, of the lack of political legitimacy and of the all-embracing arbitrariness. We should express our zero tolerance to any deficit of democracy.

Václav Klaus on the panel: "How to complete the process of European integration", Zagreb, Croatia, October 14, 2005