Brussels, 11/11/2008 (Agence Europe) - In the first six months of 2009, the EU is to be under the Presidency of a country whose president calls himself a “European Union dissident”? Seven weeks before the start of the Czech Presidency, when the fate of the Mirek Topolanek government is hanging by a thread, fresh provocative comments from Czech President Vaclav Klaus have raised questions over the country's ability to assume its first European Presidency with the political serenity that is required. Visiting Ireland, where he was due to meet millionaire businessman Declan Ganley (who led the “No” campaign against the Lisbon Treaty) on Tuesday evening, Klaus justified his controversial meeting with the leader of Libertas in the following terms: “I cannot see why I should not meet him because President Vaclav Havel used to meet dissidents. So I will now meet an EU dissident, and I regard myself as such as well”. The European Commission did not wish to comment on what Klaus had said. The spokesman for José-Manuel Barroso simply noted on Tuesday that “an EU Presidency has a role clearly defined by the Treaty”. He also said that the Commission had “confidence in the determination of the Czech Republic to make a successful Presidency”.
Lisbon Treaty. Klaus' visit to Ireland comes at a sensitive time for the new treaty which was rejected by the Irish in June and which has yet to be ratified by the Czech Republic. Although Prime Minster Topolanek intended to complete the ratification by parliament before the end of the year, the Constitutional Court has just postponed, until 25 November, publication of its opinion on the treaty's compatibility with the Czech constitution (at the request of President Klaus who is of the opinion that the treaty is “dead” and who still wants to address the Court before its gives its conclusions). In Dublin on Monday, after meeting Prime Minister Brian Cowen (who is due to put options for finding a solution to the December European Council) Klaus told press that he did not think the Taoiseach was going to push for a rapid solution. At a dinner with Klaus, Cowen said that the solution to break the deadlock had both to take account of Irish concerns and be acceptable to the other 26 member states. “This combination will not be easy to achieve, but I am determined to do so,” he said. In the meantime, Declan Ganley is preparing a platform to give all EU citizens the opportunity to express their views on the Lisbon Treaty at the European elections next June, says the Libertas site (http://www.libertas.org ). (H.B./transl.rt)