Interview mit Vaclav Klaus

The Sunday Times interview with Vaclav Klaus,
President of the Czech Republic

Auszüge:

2. The Irish have once rejected the Lisbon Treaty but they have been asked to go to the polls again - and surveys indicate that this time the vote could have a different outcome. What is your position on the renewed referendum on the Treaty in Ireland?

VK: I will not comment on the Irish government’s decision to hold the second referendum. It is its sovereign decision for which it is accountable to the Irish voters. I am not certain that the vote could have a different outcome, I believe the Irish people knew what they were doing. But the pressure will be enormous, and not very democratic.

4. What articles of the Lisbon Treaty do you object the most and why?

VK: I object the Treaty as such. It is the old Constitutional treaty re-written. If ratified, it will represent an irreversible shift from “Europe of states” to “the State of Europe”. This cannot be “improved” by some cosmetic changes in article “x” or “y” of the Treaty.

5. As a vehement proponent of economic deregulation, what do you think of Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s plan for the upcoming G-20 summit, in which he calls for more regulatory supervision?

VK: I think that the attempts to solve the current economic and financial crisis by further regulation are wrong and they can have the effect of making the crisis even graver. The crisis cannot be solved by restraining human initiative and putting further burdens on businesses, I propose the exact opposite: deregulation, liberalisation, removing barriers and unnecessary, obstructive legislation at the EU level. In my view, the next Commission should propose which legal acts and standards are to be repealed, rather than proposing new ones.

9. You also said the economic system of the EU is that of a “suppressed market.” But do you agree with the argument that EU regulations have resulted in a more intensive competition, for instance by enforcing a reduction of roaming charges, introducing low bank transaction fees, transparency for plane tickets etc?

VK: I strongly disagree with the statement that the EU regulations have resulted in a more intensive competition. To mastermind or correct the markets and regulate them in order to make the competition “more intensive” or “fairer” is unacceptable. The government failure is always much bigger than the market failure.