Anixneuseis

By Elefterios Karayannis Greek Ambassandor ad Honoris

At the recent European Summit (29-30 October) the 26 Heads of State of the European Union managed to create a new page of history, not for themselves, but for the 27th head of state, the President of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus. This page of history belongs in full to the latter, given that he managed on his own to defend the interests of his country, not only against his European partners but also against his government, parliament and senate- which had already adopted the Lisbon Treaty and its Charter of Fundamental Rights.

The issue which raised such hubbub relates to the Sudeten problem. Specifically, during the times of the former Czechoslovakia, a German minority, numbering approximately three million inhabitants, lived since centuries in the regions of Bohemia and Silesia. In 1935 the Germans asked for the region’s independence, which was met with the refusal of the Czechoslovak government. In 1938, at the famous meeting of Munich, the French and English bowed to Hitler’s pressure for the annexation of the region to Germany. The President of the then Czechoslovakia  Benes, during the Second World War, and whilst in exile in London, promulgated the famous Decrees which stipulated that at the end of the war, the belongings of all Germans living in the Sudeten region would be seized and the latter expelled from Czechoslovakia without any compensation.

Despite the recent official statement of the German government that the issue of the Sudeten is not an interstate issue but concerns the two actors at stake, the European Council of Copenhagen of 1993, during which the European Union laid down the entry criteria for new States, made special mention to the issues of protection of human rights and minorities, at the behest of Germany, with the hope that through this mention, the claims of the Sudeten Germans, for repatriation to the Czech Republic with financial compensation, would be met.

This mention has no follow-up however, as the Czech government refused to let this topic be raised during its accession negotiations to the European Union.

This stance constitutes a very strong message for the Greek government which either fosters the illusion that it will solve its bilateral problems with Turkey through the latter’s accession negotiations with the EU, or is fully aware of this shortcoming and just wants to gain time towards Greek public opinion.

The second attempt to satisfy the demands of the Sudeten Germans was made through the Charter of Fundamental Rights which were annexed to the Treaty of Lisbon. The Charter streamlines in one text and seven dedicated chapters the sum of civil, political, economical, and social rights of European citizens and those that live on EU soil. Great Britain however, sought and received guarantee clauses for certain labour issues as did Poland for certain issues pertaining to family and ethics.

The President of the Czech Republic, correctly foreseeing that the charter carried a danger of creating a loophole for the bypass of Czech justice and thus the Benes Decrees, insisted on receiving guarantee clauses, in order to avoid receiving thousands of claims by Sudeten Germans that he would have to accept.

I must point out at this stage that in case of refusal of the Czech President to sign whichever text of a legislative nature or a treaty, there is a mention in the Czech constitution of a bypass through a common voting procedure of a special plenary of the Parliament and Senate.

I feel thus obliged to chart the possibility that our country, with the implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon, will find itself faced with enormous problems from well-known neighbours who are seeking compensation and belongings especially in Northern Greece.

In closing, the President of the Czech Republic, and Professor of Economics, Mr. Vaclav Klaus, by standing up for the sovereign national rights of his country against a strong Germany, the European Commission but also other member states, managed to secure them whilst providing a strong lecture in political and diplomatic maneuvering.