Czech PM cool on plan to change Lisbon Treaty agreed at Brussels summit

EU leaders have agreed at a summit in Brussels on limited changes to the Lisbon Treaty aimed at protecting the bloc’s economy. The Czech prime minister, Petr Nečas, is cool on the idea of amending the document, saying it would be better to find a simpler way of creating a new crisis management system. Mr Nečas has also criticised a proposed increase in the EU’s 2011 budget, saying in a time of austerity the Union too should keep spending down.

Photo: CTK

In the early hours of Friday morning EU leaders announced they had agreed to make limited changes to the Lisbon Treaty, a document that came into force less than a year ago.

They said such changes were needed to create a permanent system to deal with national debt problems and to punish states that do not keep their budget deficits and debts in check.

Herman Van Rompuy, photo: European Commission

The president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, is due to present Europe’s leaders with concrete proposals in December on what form such amendments should take.

However, the Czech prime minister, Petr Nečas told reporters he believed that in the end the EU’s main treaty may not be changed at all.

Petr Nečas, photo: www.vlada.cz

“I wouldn’t completely rule out the possibility that the treaty will not be changed, because firstly agreement has to be reached on the mechanism – and that hasn’t been created yet. Secondly, it’s theoretically possible that a change of secondary law could suffice for that mechanism. The third possibility is some small change in primary law, that is to the Lisbon Treaty. But for now all such considerations and hypotheses are premature, because work is beginning on everything just now, and it should be prepared for December’s European Council summit.”

Photo: European Commission

Mr Nečas made it clear that he preferred the second option: avoiding an amendment to Lisbon, which would need to be ratified by all member states, either in a parliamentary vote or via a referendum.

The second issue which dominated the two-day summit in Brussels was the EU’s proposed budget for 2011. The European Parliament has been pushing for a budget increase of 5.9 percent next year.

Photo: Sanja Gjenero / Stock.XCHNG

However, that idea met with strong resistance, with the United Kingdom leading a group of 11 members – including the Czech Republic – demanding a maximum increase of 2.9 percent.

The Czech government is planning unprecedented domestic spending cuts next year, and Petr Nečas said Prague was firmly opposed to the European Parliament’s plan. He said that in a situation in which savings were being made it wasn’t possible for the EU to behave as if it were on a desert island, ignoring the fact that cuts were being implemented everywhere else.