Ivan Klima on EU membership

EU membership not only has practical implications for the ten countries that joined on May 1: there's also a cultural and intellectual dimension as well. Rob Cameron spoke to one of the Czech Republic's best-known authors Ivan Klima about what EU membership means for his country. He began by asking whether membership would mean a loss of identity for the Czech people:

"I always don't understand entirely the word 'identity' - which is the same word in Czech - because what does it mean? I guess that what we meant by 'identity' is in some way connected to the past, even with nationalism, with the revival of Czech culture in the struggle with German culture. Of course globalisation goes against this kind of identity. If you walk through the centre of Prague, it's not clear where you are, because you hear ten various languages, you see only foreign shops, and there is nothing special."

Surely that's a bad thing? As you say, Prague now looks very much like any other city.

"That's entirely true. But all the capitals of Europe have lost this kind of identity. You don't recognise that you're in Amsterdam - apart from the canals of course! - or Brussels, or Prague, Vienna. They're all so similar, and it's the influence of globalisation."

Is there a sense of rejoining Europe? Pre-war Czechoslovakia was a modern, democratic, prosperous country with close links with Britain and France etc.

"I'm afraid that we've really lost an enormous amount of time, during the Nazi occupation and the 40 years of Communism. We can - I hope - restore democracy entirely, not only the laws but also the habits. But to reach the level of Western countries - living standards - will be rather difficult. But anyway, it's not important to be very rich, it's important that we shall be pushed to take much more care about education and the living standard of the intelligentsia, and also to preserve our nature. Because it was terribly neglected under Communist rule, and still for many people it's something which is not so important. But I think it is very important. And this feeling that we are depending on nature is much stronger in the EU than in our country, and I hope we will be pushed to take care of it as well."