Czech crisis, economy threatens EU expansion - Forbes.com »
Posted By gamahuche 7 months, 2 weeks ago in NewsThe Czech Republic's political crisis and the economic slowdown are
threatening European Union plans to offer membership to new
countries in the Balkans and beyond, officials said on Saturday.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana warned the downturn could feed nationalism across Europe, and insisted the bloc should pursue an expansion which supporters say has spread wealth and security to millions in former Communist states.
"There is also a risk of political protectionism -- what we call nationalism," he said.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn insisted the downturn and rising joblessness should not be used as a pretext to halt further expansion plans.
However last week's no-confidence vote in the Czech government cast doubt on whether Prague will ratify an EU treaty needed to reform EU decision-making and allow it to add to its current count of 27 member states.
"This path is going to be longer, in all likelihood it's going to take us more time," Serb Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said at talks between EU countries and would-be members in the Czech town of Hluboka.
He stressed that Belgrade still intended to apply for a membership that at best is seen several years away.
The Lisbon Treaty needs to be ratified by all 27 EU states before it comes into force as planned on Jan. 1. Before the Czech crisis, the biggest potential obstacle was seen as an Irish referendum on it to be held later this year.
Asked if failure by Prague to ratify the Lisbon Treaty would jeopardise enlargement plans, Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said conservative leaders of France and Germany had made it clear the treaty was a precondition for expansion.
"It was clearly stated by France, and clearly stated by Germany. So, yes, it would be the case," he told reporters.
IN KLAUS'S HANDS
A German government source reaffirmed Berlin's view that the failure of the Lisbon Treaty would prevent Croatia becoming the 28th member of the bloc -- quite apart from dashing the longer term entry prospects of other Balkans states and Turkey.
"There will be no enlargement if there is no Lisbon Treaty," said French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, reaffirming a French position also backed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Croatia's progress has been stalled by a border dispute with EU member Slovenia, which is seeking direct access to the sea.
The European Commission has offered to act as a mediator and has offered a compromise proposal which it has not detailed publicly. Rehn said he wanted the two sides to reply by Monday.
The Commission has said it wants negotiations closed by the end of the year, and Croatia hopes to join in 2010 or 2011.
The collapse of Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek's government makes it uncertain whether the upper house of Czech parliament will give the treaty the green light. Analysts say the country's constitution gives its eurosceptic President Vaclav Klaus a large say in determining how events now unfold.
The two main Czech parties agreed on Saturday to hold an early election, a move that could stabilise the political situation in Prague and so theoretically pave the way for ratification of the Lisbon Treaty as early as May.
But diplomats warned that the balance of power in the Czech upper house, where the treaty faces opposition from many ruling Civic Democrats, remained unclear.
"Things have not got easier in the last two or three days," said Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn. "A lot lies in the hands of President Klaus." (Additional reporting by Mark John, Julien Toyer and Ilona Wissenbach; Writing by Mark John; Editing by Louise Ireland)
Read Full Story at forbes.com »
680 Views Share Story 20 Comments Report
Submitted By:
gamahuche
"I would rather be a square peg than fit in a pigeon hole" -
an essay which won me the "Lamb Essay Prize" at the Religious ...
Who Also Submitted:
RSS Join the Discussion
+ Add CommentComments So Far: 20 (view all)
-
75%
gamahuche7 months, 2 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
This is an acutely critical moment in EU history - perhaps made even more so by the forthcoming visit of Barack Obama. With the collapse of the Czech government the role of our highly Euro-sceptical President becomes crucial and this is a very worrying prospect for anyone who supports a United Europe - it could effectively alter the balance of the whole world. [If its importance comes across to you please do share this with some friends in the A-F range and the R-Z part of the alphabet.. Thanks, g]
Reply -
ShixaComment removed: Retracted by user
-
0%
tadair9197 months, 2 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Now we celebrate "chinese food," "mexican food," "italian food," etc, etc. We like our different foods.
Reply
But we obviously have no problem giving up our country's soverignty. And we don't seem to care much about giving private central banks control over our currency.
Will there ever be a time that we give up our food soverignty, too? I mean, you know, for the hell of it.
Irish food, german food, french food. Let's just call it all "EU Food"? Lump it all under one category. Why not? \No borders, remember! -
0%
aceofspades17 months, 2 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
What makes anyone think that the EU is a viable long-term entity given Europe's' long history conflict over national sovernty from the earliest examples of tribalism to the Balkan conflicts. A common currency & market will eventually fail in light of this history. There is no common language nor culture to sustain it. In light of the current worldwide economic crisis the EU is bound to become "everyman for himself".
Reply-
100%
gamahuche7 months, 2 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
The whole point of the EU is to overcome the "trbal conflicts".
Reply
I think you could easily ask the same thing about the US in regard to race-wars, drug-wars and surely not far away in the current catastrophe homeless wars, drug wars and border wars.
-
-
100%
aceofspades17 months, 2 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Unfortunately some of our biggest and formerly best breweries have been bought by outsiders, NEVER leading to an improvement
Reply
This might be a double post - but that is what you are missing back here in the US - a virtual cornicopia of artisan beers are available - the local beer store has hundreds of labels
I travel quite often to the UK & on one trip I read an article about this fantastic beer written by a UK drink critic - know where that beer is brewed? - about 5 miles from my house in the next town - they bottle it in a gallon jug with a hand written date, the brew changes with the seasons. The name is Blue Point & if you bring the empty jug back to the brewery for a refill they discount 50 cents, reminds me of my grandfather going to the bar to get a growler to take home - think I'll crack a jug open now -- Cheers! -
100%
jimdoze7 months, 2 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
There are many who feel that governments should step back and let markets cleanse themselves of the mess that was created by the U.S. government removing fear Mortgage/Real Estate markets over the last half century. The problem is that the disruptions and social chaos that present as a result of a quick cleansing lead to Protectionism and Nationalism. Protectionism and nationalism lead to a breakdown of trade, at a minimum, and a much higher probability of a breakdown cooperative organizations such as the European Union. Break down the EU and the result will be the re-emergence of the old ethnic rivalries which have produced two world wars and numerous other murderous interregnums.
Reply
Two over-riding strategic imperatives become apparent. The first is that governments must find common ground to cushion the depth (and lengthen the time frame) of the deflationary economic blowback that has resulted from the government induced inflation in the mortgage/real estate markets. The second is that this is no time for the pacifists of the world, and particularly in the U.S., to prevail with their seductive siren song that presents itself as the dismantling of Pax Americana with its concomitant "savings" in U.S. Government revenue.-
Neutral
hyperbola7 months, 2 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
You must be on the pentagon "iron triangle" corruption drip jimd. Time to bail out of the imperialism that is bankrupting our country and destroying our constitution.
Reply
Obama and the System: The Economy and the Big Picture
None of the reporting I’ve seen on the “economic crisis” discloses to the American People what is at the core of the crisis... In 1948 George Kennan, one of the chief architects of post-war US foreign policy, famously stated the chief object of US policy in the post-war era: "We have about 50% of the world's wealth, but only 6.3% of its population. ... Our real task in the coming period is to devise a pattern of relationships which will permit us to maintain this position of disparity.....” US foreign policy during the last half of the 20th Century conforms closely to Kennan’s statement of that policy’s core object...
The 60s and 70s conditioned Americans to expect a standard of living which Kennen and the ruling class knew could not be maintained over the long haul. They understood that world military dominance could only hope to delay the inevitable time of reckoning.
But military dominance required expenditure of vast sums. The problem became how to make these expenditures and at the same time maintain the consumption level of working Americans. The only solution was massive deficit spending...
By the 1980s the chief concern of the ruling elite became making sure that when the reckoning finally came it would be working Americans – not the rich – who would bear the brunt of the adjustment. That required transferring wealth from working people to the rich in advance of the reckoning. This has been the main projects of the ruling class since the election of Ronald Regan....
Personal income data suggests that the wealth transfer project of the ruling class has been spectacularly successful. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, income for the bottom half of American households rose six percent since 1979 but, through 2005, the income of the top one percent skyrocketed by 228 percent. The Wall Street Journal reports that the top .01% of the population, or 14,000 families, hold 22.2% of the nation’s wealth while the bottom 90%, or over 133 million families, have just 4%.
While the income and wealth gap between rich rulers and working Americans continued during the Clinton, Bush 1 and Reagan Administration, wealth transfer during the eight years of the Bush 2 presidency has been unprecedented in scope and audacity. -
-
-
100%
karymari2557 months, 2 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
it may be much more difficult for america to sell unbrideled capitalism to europe or any where else .alot of people in europe believe the economic crisis is our fault . of course they where greedy just like many people and invested in high risk securitys from us to make a quick buck .of course the problem for us is they took out insurance with AIG. to cover their butt's
Reply -
100%
karymari2557 months, 2 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
i hope europe takes a page out of the history of switzerland .
Reply
They bin living together in harmony for over 600 years.
switzerland got four different language's , they work hart to keep all their language's and different culture's alive, just the opposite from what we are doing here in the states . i believe the have a richer live experience becuse of this.
the french would say vive la differace -
Add a Comment
Sign In With Your Propeller Account
Please keep your comments relevant to this story.
To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.