Kavan rejects offer to run for Communists in European Parliament elections

Former foreign minister Jan Kavan, who is a member of the Social Democrats, has declined an offer to stand for the Communist Party in elections next year to the European Parliament. Speaking on TV Nova on Sunday, he also said he had turned down a low position on the Social Democrats' list of candidates. The Communists offered Mr Kavan a high place on their list, which would have given him a relatively good chance of being elected. Jan Kavan, who last year was president of the United Nations General Assembly, has been involved in several controversies since the early 1990s.