Czechs in the EU: Václav Havel’s legacy

In the first episode of our five-part-series Czechs in the EU, which we are running in connection with the upcoming European Parliament elections, we will look at the legacy left by the country’s first post-communist president Václav Havel and how he was perceived in Brussels and Strasbourg. My guest in the studio is Viktor Daněk, Czech Radio’s former correspondent in Brussels, now Deputy Director of the EUROPEUM Institute.

Viktor, what is it that makes Václav Havel an inspiration to European politicians almost thirteen years after his death?

Lech Wałęsa and Václav Havel|Photo: ČT24

“Well, European Union connects states which were for decades divided by the Iron Curtain, and I think that Václav Havel became a symbol, alongside Lech Wałęsa, of this change and of European unity. It even became a matter of curtesy to mention him on important occasions when European politicians speak about history.

“That was the case also with Roberta Metsola. She mentioned Václav Havel shortly after she was elected President of the European Parliament.”

Roberta Metsola: “My generation sees no old and new Europe. We are the first of the Erasmus generation and the last of the Havel and Walesa generation. We understand that quality. 

“The Commission President Ursula von der Leyen quite often mentions Václav Havel too. For example, in one of her “State of the Union” speeches in the European Parliament, she tried to explain what the common values in the European Union are, and why the citizens of the Eastern Bloc countries wanted to tear down the Iron Curtain.”

Ursula von der Leyen:  "They wished to put an end to spying and state-organized espionage and wanted to put an end to corruption. Their dream was freedom, the opportunity to live a different life. Then Czech president Václav Havel could not have said it more clearly: people wanted all these "great European values". 

Václav Havel|Photo: © European Union 2000 - EP

The chief of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen there, and she does quote Václav Havel very often. Viktor, the Czech Republic only joined the European Union after Václav Havel had left the office of the president. Nevertheless, of all the Czech heads of state, it was Václav Havel who was most frequently invited to address the European Parliament. What was the vision or the message that he brought?

“Yes, he was there three times; the first time was already in 1994. At that time, Czechia was not a member of the European Union, so in his speech he actually spoke about why countries such as Czechia should join the EU. One of the things he mentioned was the Maastricht Treaty, which was quite new at the time. He noted that is it very technocratic; he described it as a very sophisticated machine, but without a soul.”

Václav Havel: "Reading the Maastricht Treaty, despite how historically significant a document it is, is unlikely to win the European Union any truly passionate supporters, or patriots. It will not help people relate to this complex organism as to their homeland.  If this great administrative work, which should obviously make life easier for all Europeans, is indeed to endure and withstand the test of time, it must be cemented far more visibly by something other than a structure of rules and norms."

Václav Havel|Photo: © European Communities 1994

“Havel then returned to European Parliament in 2000. In his speech at that time, he mentioned what actually creates the European identity, and he proposed a lot of institutional changes that would, in his view, bring the Union closer to the citizens. For example, he proposed the creation of a European Constitution.”

Václav Havel: "A constitution that children around Europe could comprehend at school without too much difficulty. The existence of such a basic law would not automatically mean a radical transformation of the present union of states into one big federal “super-state”, as the Eurosceptics fear, but just that the inhabitants of a unifying Europe could be clearer about what the European Union is, could understand it better and could identify with it more easily."

“Therefore, I think it is safe to say that Václav Havel was actually an inspiration for later attempts to create the European Constitution.

“Then he was present in the European Parliament again in 2009, and delivered a speech on the occasion of the anniversary of the fall of the Iron Curtain.”

Viktor Daněk|Photo: Matěj Skalický, Czech Radio

Václav Havel:  "We're in the same boat, and that boat is heading in a good direction. It will continue to do so as long as all its passengers share responsibility and don't just play their own game in their own interests."

“I think that a lot of Havel’s thoughts that we heard in his speeches in the European Parliament remain valid even today. The most famous speech of Václav Havel, which was later used during the Czech presidency as its motto “Europe as a task,” was actually not a quote from one of his European Parliament speeches. It was from a different speech that he presented in 1996 in Germany on the occasion of the Charlemagne Prizes presentation.”

Indeed, the late Václav Havel left a huge legacy. He’s often remembered, he’s often quoted, and one of the European Parliament buildings in Strasbourg is named in his honour. It is the newest one, opened in 2017 in the presence of then president of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani and Václav Havel’s widow Dagmar, who unveiled a bronze bust of Havel in front of the entrance. What does the building look like Viktor? Can you tell us a bit about it?

“Yes, certainly. It’s not a palace, it’s just a regular office building, but we can see many things that actually remind us of Václav Havel and his legacy. For example, the famous tapestry of Petr Sís can be seen there. It is a copy of the original that can be seen at the Prague airport. On top of that, there are lots of pictures from the life of Václav Havel.

“What I also want to say is that the building is quite far aside from the main centre of activities of the European Parliament. However, what I think Václav Havel would have found amusing is the reason why it is quite popular among the staff of the Parliament. The reason is that it is actually the only building in the complex that has a terrace, and people use it to go for a smoke.”

Photo: Mathieu Cugnot, © European Union 2017 - EP