Haider: annul decrees, stop Temelin, or no EU entry

The former leader of Austria's far-right Freedom Party, Jorg Haider says that if the Benes Decrees are not annulled and if the Temelin nuclear power plant is put on-line, Austria will block Czech EU membership. The Benes Decrees were issued at the end of WWII and led to the expulsion of up to 3 million ethnic Germans from Czechoslovakia, many of whom settled in Austria. Also, many Austrians are opposed to Temelin, which lies just 50 km from the Austrian border. The two issues have strained Czech-Austrian relations, and Mr Haider, the controversial former leader of the Freedom Party, reiterated on Wednesday that if these issues are not resolved, Austria will block Czech accession to the EU.