Brussels, 29/04/2002 (Agence Europe) - The Benes Decrees must not impede accession negotiations with the Czech Republic, despite differences over this delicate issue, said the members of the EU/Czech Republic Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) last week. "We agree unanimously that this matter, whilst being the subject of differing views, should not provide an obstacle to the conclusion of accession negotiations in the course of 2002", we read in the conclusions approved at a meeting in Prague. For Ursula Stenzel (Austria, EPP), co-chair of the JPC, this declaration (while useful and important) is only the "lowest common denominator" that could be found during very lively debates. For her, the question of the impact the Benes Decrees could have on the Czech Republic's accession process remains "open".
Meanwhile, the President of the EPP-ED Group in the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering, rejected the criticisms levelled by Vladimir Siplda, leader of the Social-Democrats and Czech Deputy Prime Minister, who had accused his group of "putting into question the post-war denazilifcation regime in the Czech Republic". There is no question of placing into question the post-war order of the Czech Republic, but of ensuring that there is no legal discrimination between European citizens, said Poettering. According to him, the current debate on the impact of the Benes Decrees on Czech legislation is of interest not only to Austrian and German MEPs, but also those of countries sensitive to this problem, "as the European Union in a community of values".
The Joint Parliamentary Committee also made an appeal to the Fifteen to grant the Czech Republic and Hungary 22 seats in the European Parliament (instead of the 20 decided in Nice), treating them like other countries with identical or similar populations, like Belgium, Greece and Portugal, which each have 22 seats.