PM says he was weak to accept EU treaty

In contrast to what he called a ‘strong’ Civic Democratic government, Mr Topolanek said that he had been ‘too weak’ to prevent the adoption of the EU reform treaty, which grants the European Union some powers which previously belonged to its individual member states. Mr Topolanek said that he knew he had not acted in accordance with the Civic Democrats’ 2006 manifesto when he voted for the reforms. But, he added, vetoing the treaty would have isolated the Czech Republic in Europe, which he was not prepared to do. Deputy PM for European Affairs Alexander Vondra insisted that the Czech delegation had succeeded in watering down the final version of the treaty, which it went on to approve. He added that the EU treaty, in its final form, was acceptable and in harmony with the policies of the Civic Democrats.