• Draft EU constitution good basis for further talks, says Spidla
    06/20/2003

    The prime minister, Vladimir Spidla, has described the draft European Union constitution prepared by the European Convention as a good basis for intergovernmental talks on the future of the union. Mr Spidla was speaking at the Greek resort of Porto Carras at a conference attended by the leaders of the 15 existing EU countries and 10 countries which are set to join next May. The Czech prime minister also said on Friday that he had welcomed the opportunity to speak Czech during the negotiations; under a new rule delegates from candidate countries can now speak in their own languages at EU conferences. The Czech people voted to join the EU in the country's first ever referendum last weekend.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • EU enlargement commissioner praises Czech statement on expulsions
    06/20/2003

    The commissioner for European Union enlargement, Guenter Verheugen, also praised the Czech statement on Friday, describing it as a clear acknowledgement of European values. Mr Verhuegen said the statement confirmed the very essence of European integration, meaning bringing the people of Europe closer together and creating a firm basis for permanent peace.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Former Czech president honoured in Berlin
    06/18/2003

    Former Czech president Vaclav Havel has been honoured in Berlin. On Wednesday he was awarded a prize by the German National Foundation for 2003, for his services in helping to improve German-Czech relations, European integration, and conditions on human rights. The prize given to Mr Havel is worth 100,000 euros. In his acceptance speech the 66-year-old former president said his goal had always been to steer a steady course of reconciliation between the West and the East while defending his nation's interests. Among those in attendance at the special ceremony on Wednesday was German President Johannes Rau. The German National Foundation which awarded Mr Havel the prize, was first set-up by former West German chancellor Helmut Schmidt in 1993.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Svoboda: EU foreign ministers surprised at Klaus attitude to poll
    06/17/2003

    Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda has said foreign ministers from a number of EU countries have expressed their surprise that President Vaclav Klaus had failed to make clear whether Czechs should vote "Yes" in the recent EU referendum. Speaking to reporters after returning from an EU meeting in Luxembourg, Mr Svoboda said the Czech president was the only head of state of a candidate country to refuse to recommend EU membership to his citizens. President Klaus urged people to vote in the poll, but said they must make up their own minds. He was also quoted as saying that EU membership was a marriage of convenience, not love. In the end, 77 percent of people voted "Yes" to joining the EU.
    Author: Rob Cameron

  • EC's ambassador to Prague bows out after successful referendum
    06/16/2003

    The European Commission's ambassador to Prague Mr. Ramiro Cibrian has said he is convinced that the process of ratifying the EU accession treaty by the unions 15 members should go smoothly. At a press conference in Prague on Monday, Mr. Cibrian congratulated Czechs on endorsing EU accession in a historic referendum and said it was a wonderful conclusion to his mission in Prague. After four and a half years in the Czech Republic, Mr. Cibrian is leaving his post, to be replaced by the current charge d'affaires Mr. Ralf Dreyer. Over the past twelve months Mr. Cibrian covered 35,000 kilometers, visited eighty towns and cities and held debates on EU membership with over 10,000 people in near-fluent Czech. "It has been hectic, but worthwhile" he told reporters.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • President Klaus under fire
    06/16/2003

    President Vaclav Klaus has come under fire for his non-committal stand regarding the country's accession to the EU. Finance Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and Labour Minister Zdenek Skromach have both criticized the head of state for failing to take a public stand on so crucial an issue. President Klaus appealed to voters to go to the polls and make a prudent decision, but he refused to commit one way or another or to say how he himself would vote. "This is not a stand befitting a president" minister Sobotka told newsmen, pointing out that the presidents of Poland, Hungary and Slovakia had led their country's pro EU campaigns.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Referendum endorses EU membership
    06/15/2003

    Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla has thanked Czechs for endorsing the country's accession to the European Union in a historic referendum over the weekend. According to a final result published by the Czech Statistical Office 77 percent of voters cast ballots in support of EU entry, 23 percent voted against. The turnout was 55 percent. Support for EU membership reportedly came from all strata of society and from all political parties.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Politicians welcome "yes" vote
    06/15/2003

    Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla said it was "a historical and fateful vote" but quickly reminded Czechs that much needed to be done for the Czech Republic to join the EU as an equal partner next May. He said that the positive outcome of the vote gave the government, which has a narrow one-vote majority in the Lower House, a strengthened mandate to enact key reforms needed for the eventual adoption of the euro. Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda said the outcome was a success for all Czech citizens. Although no minimum turnout was required, a fairly strong turnout was important for the ruling coalition which has spent 200 million crowns on a campaign promoting EU membership. Joining the European Union has been the country's main foreign policy goal since the fall of communism in 1989.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Reactions from abroad
    06/15/2003

    The European Commission also thanked the Czech electorate for voting "yes". "The Czech Republic takes the place it was always entitled to" said the Commission's chief representative in Prague Mr. Ramiro Cibrian. Congratulations have come from the EU Commissioner for Expansion Mr. Gunter Verheugen, from Greece which currently holds the rotating EU presidency and from representatives of the European Parliament.

    Both EU members and EU candidates have congratulated the Czech Republic on making "the right decision" and "putting faith in the future of the European Union". The French Minister for European Affairs Noelle Lenoir welcomed Czechs in the EU and said that the return of the Czech Republic to Europe was excellent news for all. German officials called it " a great day for the Czech Republic" and in the Austrian capital Vienna, Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero Waldner welcomed Czechs to the EU with a few sentences in Czech.

    The Czech Republic is one of ten predominantly former communist states set to join the European Union next May in a "big bang" eastward expansion. Voters in Poland, Malta, Slovenia, Hungary, Lithuania and Slovakia have already approved accession in national referenda. Estonia and Latvia are to vote in September.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Vondra in Iraq
    06/15/2003

    Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Vondra is in Iraq to negotiate the conditions under which the Czech Republic will participate in the reconstruction of that country. Mr. Vondra spent Sunday in Basra where he visited the Czech field hospital which has been serving the civilian population in and around Basra since May. The Czech government is sending twenty Czech experts to Iraq to help restore the country's damaged infrastructure and has appointed a liaison officer for Czech firms which are interested in participating in the reconstruction of Iraq.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

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