Oct 9 (Reuters) - Czech President Vaclav Klaus said on
Friday he wanted Prague to negotiate an "exemption" from the
European Union's Lisbon Treaty to avert possible property claims
by Germans expelled after World War Two.
Klaus, a fierce critic of closer EU integration, has so far
refused to sign the treaty, threatening a delay in its
implementation and angering EU leaders.
France said there was no way to change the treaty, and
analysts said it would be very difficult for the Czechs to
achieve any concessions at this late stage.
The Czech government, which conducts foreign policy, has yet
to take a position on the demands.
Why does Klaus object to the treaty?
Klaus believes the treaty would be a step toward a European
superstate. He says it would take sovereignty away from nations.
He believes national governments are the only legitimate
representatives of the people, and European cooperation should
be conducted at that level.
On Friday, he said the Czech Republic should at least secure
an exemption to maintain judicial sovereignty and avoid property
claims by the families of Germans expelled after World War Two.
About 3 million ethnic Germans, called Sudeten Germans, were
forced out, and many were killed. Some Sudetens had collaborated
with the Nazi German occupation of the former Czechoslovakia.
Where does ratification stand in the Czech Republic?
Both the upper and lower houses of parliament have ratified
the treaty. A group of pro-Klaus Senate members has filed a
complaint against it with the Constitutional Court.
The court said it would give the case priority and indicated
it could rule in several weeks. The court has already thrown out
one complaint against the treaty and most experts think that it
will reject the latest attempt as well.
Do exemptions exist and could the Czechs get one?
Britain and Poland are not exempted from the charter but
they secured special protocols interpreting applications of the
treaty in their national law.
Britain won the right for the charter not to be a reason for
challenging its labour laws. Poland said the charter must not
provide grounds for changing its laws on family and morality,
for example on abortion.
Hugo Brady of the Centre for European Policy said that at
best the Czechs could get a declaration saying the treaty does
not apply to the Sudeten German question. But he said Klaus's
hostility towards the EU would probably not help his case.
"There are already clauses in the charter specifically
curtailing its risks to only competences where the EU has the
power to make law, so (on) a local matter of resettlement
rights, the EU doesn't have those kinds of powers," Brady said.
"So his argumentation will probably be rejected."
What do Czech politicians think?
Non-partisan interim Prime Minister Jan Fischer said he
believed the ratification process will be completed by the end
of the year. The main leftist party, the Social Democrats,
supports the pact.
The main right-wing party, the Civic Democrats -- which
Klaus set up in the 1990s -- grudgingly supported the treaty as
a price worth paying for being in the EU. A faction within the
party has remained loyal to Klaus, opposing the treaty.
Does Klaus have to sign?
Most lawyers say he has to sign, although the constitution
does not give any date. Some lawyers have said that the treaty
could even be considered ratified without his signature.
Are there ways to force him to sign?
Probably not. The Senate could vote to have him tried in the
Constitutional court for treason, but that is very unlikely.
What do the Czechs think?
Most Czechs are largely indifferent to an issue too
complicated to translate easily to voters.
An online poll released this week showed 53 percent would
say yes to the treaty and 44 percent said that delaying signing
the treaty would harm the Czech Republic.
(Compiled by Jan Lopatka; editing by David Stamp)
