Britannia Radio

There are lots of former Germans from the Sudetenland who were Hitler’s ‘fifth column’. in democratic Czechoslovakia and who destroyed it.  They were expelled in 1945 . Many of their families campaign to get their lands and properties back. 

Klaus has found this gaping hole in his republic’s defences.

Christina 

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EU OBSERVER

10.10.09

[Polish presifdent signs treaty - - - - - - -] - But the real cloud

hanging over the events in Warsaw was a grumpy #][‘Staunchly determined’  is what they mean I expect ? !

-cs]  Vaclav Klaus, who made clear on Friday that

he plans to push for last-minute changes to the EU's new treaty at the upcoming

29 October summit.

Klaus reveals his hand

The Czech president said in a statement that he wants Prague to get an opt-out from the Charter of Fundamental Rights on the model of Polish and British opt-outs, which were added to Lisbon in 2007 in a special protocol.

The opt-out is needed, he added, in order to make sure that German families expelled from the Czech Republic 65 years ago cannot use EU courts to claim their land back.

"[The charter] will make it possible to bypass Czech courts and to raise property claims, for example, of those displaced after World War Two directly before the Court of Justice of the EU," he said.

From a legal point of view, it is unclear whether Mr Klaus is entitled to demand the change or if the other 26 EU states would have to re-ratify the document if it is made.

The Czech president voiced anger that Sweden's Mr Reinfeldt forced him to unveil his Lisbon challenge earlier than he wanted, by revealing the contents of their phone conversation on Thursday to journalists.

"After the disclosure of the contents of our conversation that – according to our agreement – was to stay confidential, a number of speculations appeared that I'd like to stop," he said.