Klaus, Sobotka also discuss Czech Lisbon Treaty opt-out

Sobotka and Klaus also discussed the CSSD´s position on the government-planned pension reform.

"The CSSD demands...that separate votes be taken on Croatia´s accession treaty and on the Czech Republic´s Lisbon Treaty protocol," Sobotka said.

He said the ratification method is an internal political issue. There is time enough to discuss it as the opt-out ratification process will start only next spring.

In late 2009, Klaus pushed through a Czech opt-out from the EU´s Charter of Fundamental Rights, a part of the Lisbon Treaty, as a step to protect Czechs from possible property claims by Sudeten Germans, though many lawyers said neither the Lisbon Treaty nor the Charter make such claims possible.

The CSSD then said Klaus had used nationalist arguments and a false threat of Czech property going to Sudeten Germans, while the opt-out is linked to various social rights and environment protection.

Sobotka said today the CSSD has reservations about the Lisbon Treaty opt-out, but he did not clearly say the CSSD would vote against it.

He said the CSSD is analysing the opt-out´s legal effects.

"We wouldn´t like the protocol [including the opt-out] to restrict the accessibility and enforceability of the social rights guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights, for our citizens," Sobotka said.

Under a previous agreement between the Czech government and European politicians, the Czech opt-out should be ratified along with Croatia´s EU accession treaty.

However, the single vote may get complicated in the Czech Senate, the upper house dominated by the CSSD.

The CSSD wants to support Croatia´s EU entry but it is opposed to the Czech opt-out from the EU´s Charter of Fundamental Rights, which, it says, would deteriorate the protection of Czech citizens´ social rights.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas (Civic Democrats, ODS) previously said the two issues will be decided on in a single vote.

After a recent meeting with Donald Tusk, prime minister of the EU-presiding Poland, Necas said concrete details are to be further negotiated on both European and national levels.

Sobotka today also acquainted Klaus with the CSSD´s reservations about the government-planned pension reform. He repeated that the CSSD is mainly opposed to the planned introduction of the second pillar that is to enable people to send part of their pension contributions to private pension schemes if they add a certain sum from their own money.

The Klaus-Sobotka meeting also touched on the situation in the EU which tackles economic problems of some eurozone members, and on the Czech state budget for 2012.

Author: ČTK
www.ctk.cz