Czech republic reaches agreement at Copengagen EU summit
Less than a month after the Czech Republic hosted a historic NATO summit - which invited seven former Eastern Bloc nations to join in a landmark expansion, the country took part in another important conference, this time in the Danish capital Copenhagen. The European Union extended invitations to ten mostly ex-communist candidate countries after completing tough negotiations which followed years of preparations on both parts.
"Today we succeeded in fulfilling the aim which generations of Europeans have fought for. In 1989 brave and visionary people tore down the Berlin Wall, they would no longer tolerate the forced division of Europe. Today we have delivered on their hopes. We decided to heal our continent, we decided to create one Europe. Today we have closed one of bloodiest and darkest chapters in European history. Today we opened a new chapter. Europe is spreading its wings in freedom, in prosperity and in peace. This is a truly proud moment for the European Union. It is a triumph for liberty and democracy. And to our new members I say, warmly welcome to our family. Our new Europe is born."
The Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, speaking on Friday evening at the close of the Copenhagen summit where leaders of the European Union reached a historic agreement, setting out the terms for expanding the EU to admit ten new members, including the Czech Republic. Words like reunion and coming back to Europe sound wonderful but in the end many agreed it all came down to money. Until the very end the summit was marked by snags and bickering over funding for future members.
A firm statement there from Mr Rasmussen after he told the candidate countries that if they did not accept the terms offered, they risked postponement of the accession process. Especially Poland, the EU's future biggest net recipient, pressed hard for more cash, while the Czech delegation had to face tough criticism from home that they did not try hard enough to negotiate a better deal for the Czech Republic. When my colleague Rob Cameron asked the Czech chief negotiator, Pavel Telicka, about the allegations, Mr Telicka was not at all pleased.
"Are you serious with that question? If you are serious, I'll answer it but if it was just intellectual provocation then I'll leave that without comment."
RP: I'm just repeating commentaries in Mlada Fronta Dnes, what Vaclav Klaus said...
"I would say that's Mlada Fronta Dnes and some politicians who have read Mlada Fronta Dnes. For me, what is important is the real outcome of the talks, the concrete figures that really matter and of course, more than that even what will be important is the final figures after the talks will finish."
To add weight to the lobby, President Vaclav Havel was due to travel to Copenhagen but fog kept his aircraft grounded in Prague, though in the end the Czech delegation managed to strike a deal even without the influence of their internationally renowned head of state. Finally, in dramatic last minute talks, the Czech Republic settled an increase in compensation payment for 2004-2006, which means an additional 83 million euros from the EU for the government budget. During the same time the country will be allowed to transfer 100 million euros from EU structural funds. Moreover, it will be able to increase direct agricultural subsidies from the government budget to 55, 60 and 65 percent of the EU level in the years 2004, 2005 and 2006, respectively. The Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla told reporters that the Czech Republic had achieved good conditions at the summit.
Most candidates came away with a financial package that they hope to sell to their people in a series of referenda. The Polish delegation returned home to join triumphant celebrations, in Budapest they installed a special clock which is counting down the time before the date of the country's accession to the EU and in Slovakia, even the opposition expressed satisfaction with the negotiations.
In contrast to the neighbours' jubilation, in the Czech Republic there are no celebrations and an uneasy silence prevails. Unsurprisingly, the opposition speaks about the terms negotiated in Copenhagen with great disrespect. President Havel communicates only through his spokesman and Prime Minister Spidla talks about nothing else but money. However, the European Commission ambassador to the Czech Republic Ramiro Cibrian says that the financial matters are not the most important outcome of the Copenhagen summit.
"The most important thing, the thing that is absolutely, absolutely essential is just membership in the European Union. To have your chair and your microphone in the European institutions and that chair and that microphone will be exactly equal to that of any other member state, big or small, old or new. Financial issues, I don't deny they are important for every person in this world, but they come afterwards. And the very important thing is that the Czech Republic has the full possibility of becoming a first-class member of the European Union - we only have first-class membership - and certainly, in my view under good financial conditions. The Czech Republic will not be a net contributor to the European budget, on the contrary, the Czech Republic will improve its net financial position with respect to the pre-accession situation. And I think that is an excellent result."
The Czech Republic can also be satisfied with a bilateral declaration it signed with Austria about the safety of the Czech Temelin nuclear power plant, for many years facing criticism from both Austria and the German state of Bavaria.
The declaration, which will be attached to the Accession Treaty, will include a single sentence that the two countries will fulfil the obligations from the previous agreements, that is the conclusions of the "Melk process" and the subsequent process since November 2001. Austrians failed to push through any mention about the jurisdiction of the European Court or a reference to the Euratom treaty with which Prague disagreed. The European Commission ambassador Ramiro Cibrian again.
"I think I have nothing to add to the bilateral declaration between the Czech Republic and Austria that has been appended to the Accession Treaty. I think the Commission fully respects this bilateral declaration and as you know the Commission was very pleased to mediate the preparation of this declaration. Commissioner Verheugen played a key role in the mediation of this bilateral declaration between these two parties."
Now, the Czech government must sell its success in negotiating its way into the EU in a referendum. But the majority of Czechs are still undecided on the EU and the government cannot celebrate until a national referendum, planned for June 2003, is passed. In six months, Czechs will go to the polls and if the government wants them to turn up and vote yes, it has a lot to do to persuade the voters.
"We drank a glass of Champagne on Friday evening," said one Czech delegate after the end of the summit. "But until the referendum is passed, the agreement is an unhatched egg."
