Klaus, Klestil discuss cooperation, EU

President Vaclav Klaus and his Austrian counterpart Thomas Klestil, who arrived on a one-day visit to the Czech Republic on Thursday, have discussed Czech-Austrian relations and cooperation within the EU. The two presidents also touched upon controversial questions of Czech-Austrian relations. However, according to President Klaus they did not mention the so-called Benes decrees in their conversation and Mr Klaus himself is not preparing any specific gestures, demanded by some Austrian politicians in connection with the Benes decrees, which sanctioned the deportation of ethnic Germans from Czechoslovakia after the Second World War. President Klestil said that Austrian leaders were pleased at the progress in the so-called Melk process, which was designed to assure expert security for the Temelin nuclear power plant. The power station is located close to the Czech-Austrian border and has been the cause of many protests in the nuclear-free Austria.