The little French president does exactly as he likes in the international arena with a puppet government which is his creature. He doesn’t know the meaning of the word ‘democracy’ only using it when he can use it to bully others, as he did to the Irish.
Christina
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FINANCIAL TIMES 16.10.09
Sarkozy attacks Klaus on Lisbon refusal
By Ben Hall in Paris and Tony Barber in Brussels
Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday criticised the refusal of Vaclav Klaus, the Czech president, to sign the Lisbon treaty and warned him he could face repercussions.
The French president broke ranks with other European Union leaders to raise the pressure on Mr Klaus, describing as “unacceptable” his refusal to ratify the treaty.
“Decision time is coming for him and it will not be without consequence,” Mr Sarkozy said in an interview that appears in Friday’s Le Figaro newspaper. “And whatever happens, this issue will be resolved by the end of the year.”
Mr Klaus this week demanded last-minute legal guarantees to ensure ratification of the treaty did not lead to a flood of claims on Czech property from ethnic Germans expelled from the former Czech Republic in 1945.
EU governments were now considering whether to give such assurances in the form of a declaration but were reluctant to provide one unless they were convinced Mr Klaus would raise no further objections, diplomats said.
Finding the appropriate language for a declaration could take some time and not everyone is happy with the idea. Austria is particularly opposed.
France regards Mr Klaus’s concerns over the Sudeten German issue as “artificial” [but the Sudeten Germans in Germany do not regard it this way and are threatening to go to the European Court if the opt-out is not legally binding from Day 1 of the Treaty -cs] but would accept a declaration if it led to speedy ratification of the treaty, as long as it did not create political problems for other countries.
“The Czech Republic, like all 27 EU member states, agreed to do everything to ratify the treaty by the end of the year,” a French official said. “The Czech government has signed it, the Czech parliament has signed it. We don’t expect the Czechs’ president to put himself in a position where he breaks the word of the Czech Republic. The EU runs on people holding to their word. There would be serious consequences.” [Sarkozy should read rthe Czech constitution which gives the Czech president equal powers with the government in negotiating treaties. He should stop bullying and realise that the French people have voted against the treaty as have the Dutch and the Irish. They’ve all been ignored and bullied into accepting it! -cs]
French frustration at Mr Klaus’s foot-dragging is shared by many in Brussels and national capitals. But other leaders have so far avoided publicly attacking Mr Klaus, fearing such criticism could prove counter-productive.
Mr Klaus’s objections have gone down badly with Mr Sarkozy who is anxious for the Lisbon treaty – of which he claims parentage – to be put into place quickly. He had to be dissuaded by Fredrik Reinfeldt, the Swedish prime minister, from haranguing Mr Klaus publicly about his reluctance to sign the treaty after the Irish Yes vote earlier this month.
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