TOP 09: only PM can coordinate EU policy

Leaders of the junior coalition party TOP 09 said Tuesday that the coordination of EU affairs policy cannot be entrusted to a specially appointed state secretary because the coalition agreement allots that responsibility to the head of the government. Prime Minister Petr Nečas has planned to establish the post of state secretary for the EU soon, saying the depth of Czech-EU relations necessitates the post. In the view of TOP 09 chairman and Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg however, the prime minister is responsible for the coordination of the country’s European policy, while the Foreign Ministry is responsible for its implementation. Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek, who has clashed with the PM on other matter in recent weeks, also said that the powers of the prime minister could not be performed by an appointed official. Mr Nečas called the remarks a sign of pre-election uneasiness.