It turns out that Václav Klaus has a more interesting argument for his footnote to the Lisbon Treaty than first appeared. The Czech government that was part of the negotiations for the Lisbon Treaty fell after it was signed. Mr Klaus argues that the present government, under technocrat Jan Fischer, has an obligation to correct the mistake made in not seeing the risk from the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Klaus is concerned that this could allow the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg to overturn the Beneš Decrees that took property away from the Sudeten ethnic Germans after 1945.
So he has an argument for bringing this up late – “Last Czech government did not pay enough attention to this,” he says in a speech today.
What is more, he may have the right to do this. Article 63(1)(b) of the Czech Constitution says that the President: “negotiates and ratifies international treaties; he may transfer the negotiation of international agreements to the Government or, with its approval, to its individual members.” Presumably this is a case where he transferred the negotiation to the Government, but he retains the power to ratify.
Here it gets complicated. “Accords on human rights and fundamental freedoms … require consent from Parliament,” says art. 49(2), while art. 63 goes on to say that the Premier also has to sign ratifications by the President and that the Government is responsible for the President’s decision.
Does this mean that Klaus has to sign anyway? Czech constitutional experts are clearly having a field day debating this. The EU diplomats who are so sure that Klaus’ request for an exemption can only come from the Czech government need to take another look.
What we really want to know is, does this mean that Klaus is making a serious point, or is he just out to delay until he can hand the torch to David Cameron? Can you trust what Klaus says about his request?
“I think this exemption can be solved quickly.”
Tags: Cameron, Charter of Fundamental Rights, constitution, Czech Republic, democracy, EU, eurosceptic, federalism, Lisbon Treaty, Vaclav Klaus
