Klaus has told the Czech press that he has no intention of holding out until next May or June - he said that if Britain had an election in a few weeks time it would be fine, but as that is not going to happen, he is expected to sign the Treaty by the end of the year! I do hope we'll be able to offer the President some future help in return for the support he has shown towards Britain - and then not give it to him!
Here is the main part of the story, courtesy of Yahoo News
Czech President 'will likely sign EU Treaty'
PRAGUE (AFP) – Euro-sceptic Czech President Vaclav Klaus, the last European Union leader holding out on signing the EU's reforming Lisbon Treaty on Saturday suggested he would ultimately sign the text."The train carrying the treaty is going so fast and it's so far that it can't be stopped or returned, no matter how much some of us would want that," he told the Lidove Noviny daily. Klaus, who angered EU partners when he further delayed the ratification process by asking for an opt-out on the treaty earlier this month, added he still did not see the text as a good thing for "freedom in Europe."But "its potential validation will not be the end of history. The dispute over freedom and democracy in Europe will certainly continue," said Klaus.Repeated delays have given rise to concerns that Klaus may be waiting for the next British general election, to be held by June 2010, after which the Conservatives, the likely winner, may hold a referendum which could bury the treaty. But Klaus said these fears were ungrounded as "I cannot and will not wait for British elections, unless they hold them in the next few days or weeks."
So, there you have it - straight from the horse's mouth - thanks for nothing! UKIP, anyone?
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10 comments:
While sympathising with your anger Fausty, Klause does not owe his loyalty to this country nor has he made us any promises; therefore he cannot be said to have betrayed us.
By signing he may in fact force Dave to stop being so pusillanimous, he asked us to wait and see what happens, well we have waited and it has nearly happened. What now Dave ?
Klaus told Cameron that he would hold out as long as he possibly could and the time frame mentioned was six months - it would now seem that he never had any intention of holding out that long! At the very least, we were conned and at worst, the vast majority of Europeans who want no further EU integration or a Federal EU Superstate have been betrayed, now that Klaus has got what he wanted because he was the last hope of derailing the process.
If this stirs Cameron into action, so much the better, but I'm certainly not holding my breath!
...On this occasion 'Fausty' I'm afraid that I find your remarks grossly unfair and unjustified... Klaus is not responsible for defining the relationship between Britain and the EU - it is our cowardly politicians to whom that duty falls. Reserve your frustrations for them...
Fausty,
I have to agree with comments above - Klaus has not 'betrayed' the UK, it is our policians - and Cameron in particular - who has 'betrayed' the UK. To a certain extent I could not see the point of the 'Support Vaclav Klaus' petition that appeared - Klaus was always going to sign, be forced to sign in effect.
The calls for a referendum are also pointless as if the people want such a referendum - and want an 'in' 'out' which is the only viable question - they can have one when the General election is called and vote Ukip as they are the only people who would pull us out of the EU.
My one fear is that Ukip will not 'get its act together'!
Point taken, downgraded to sellout.
Hi all. First, I'd like to welcome Barking Spider as an author on my blog! A thought-provoking read!
I'm also very disappointed by Klaus capitulating so soon. I would imagine that he has had huge pressure put on him - by way of arm-twisting and possibly financial inducements.
If so, it would be interesting to see if he is offered some cushy job in the EU and whether or not his standard of living increases substantially.
I had pegged Klaus as a man of integrity - particularly given his impassioned EP speech on the lack of [EU] democracy - which caused the Labour b@stards to walk out.
Klaus might not capitulate so soon. We shall know by the end of October. Christopher Booked and the Telegraph View aren't convinced (it seems) that Klaus has capitulated. Perhaps they know something we don't?
UKIP does need to show mettle and elect a credible leader, although it is difficult to imagine anyone beating Farage's punchiness.
There have been rumours that Roger Helmer's considering switching to UKIP. There might even be further Con-to-UKIP defections soon if Cameron doesn't give us an iron-clad guarantee of a referendum. (Either on Lisbon repeal, or EU exit).
Cameron must be stewing somewhat!
Erm, I meant Christopher Booker.
BS, like most of those above, I think you are being a little harsh on Klaus. In fact extremely harsh.
And if all he achieves is to wangle some opt-outs for his own country, well what is wrong with that? That's his job, to represent his own country. When I'm PM I will not care two hoots about whether my policies help or harm other countries or not, so why should he?
BS, soz for not realising you were the author of this post.
No worries - easy mistake to make!
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