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 Support The DrudgeReport; Visit Our Advertisers  Czech President Klaus warns about losing sovereignty Fri Apr 30 2004 19:44:47 ET Czech President Vaclav Klaus greeted his country's entry to the European Union on Saturday by warning Czechs that they risked losing sovereignty and being disillusioned in their union with western Europe. "I want to welcome both those who look forward to EU entry and those who have serious qualms. And I want to warn that they could be disillusioned," he said in comments broadcast shortly after midnight on the private television network Nova from a fabled mountain in the center of the country. As thousands of Czechs heralded their EU entry with concerts and fireworks displays in the capital Prague, Klaus climbed Mount Blanik near the central Czech village of Lounovice pod Blanikem. Legend has it that slumbering knights in the mountain will rise to protect the country when it most needs it. Earlier, Klaus had in Prague reiterated his view that his country would lose much of its decision-making powers to the EU. "Many of the decisions will be made in Brussels and our voice in the decision-making process will only be part of that. That will confine our sovereignty and anyone who thinks about it will see that," he told journalists. "Whether it is better or worse for the decisions to be made in Brussels is a completely separate question. But it will be a radical change," Klaus said at the launch of a new book, a collection of his writings on Europe. Later Klaus, the only accession country president not to urge a "yes" vote in referendums on EU accession, told a packed crowd in Prague's Old Town Square: "It is an extraordinary moment for us all, but it is not the moment skylarks will fall on us already cooked, in the mouth... nothing will be easy." But Klaus said joining the EU "was an immense moment for the young generation." In another speech at Prague Castle, Klaus said the Czech Republic would both gain and lose through EU membership. "We should do all that we can so that the ratio of what we gain and lose will be to our advantage," he said. "We must ensure that our identity is not obliterated and the basic attributes of the Czech state are not lost - which are things which I firmly believe we all value and will continue to do so," Klaus said. |
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