Czech MEP cycles 647 km to parliament

ANDREW WILLIS

17.07.2009 @ 09:24 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – Amid a week that saw the landmark election of an MEP from a formerly communist country to the position of European parliament president, two other events also stood out as firsts of their kind.

Czech MEP Edvard Kozusnik from the Civic Democrats (ODS) party arrived at the Strasbourg parliament for its first session after the June elections having cycled the 647 km from Prague in just under two weeks.

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Mr Kozusnik, whose skin-tight red lycra cycling gear stood out against the wash of grey and blue suits in the hemicycle, had promised supporters he would undertake the bicycle trip if elected.

To help him on his journey, the new deputy set off from Prague on 2 July with a small backpack containing traditional Czech buns, a flask of plum brandy and a small magnifying glass given to him by his friends to scrutinise the notoriously technical EU legislation.

Although his promise to supporters was the main reason for Mr Kozusnik's undertaking, the Czech deputy said he was also aiming to bring greater attention to the new anti-federalist European Conservatives and Reformists group, of which the ODS is a member.

First deaf deputy

While Mr Kozusnik's insistence on staying in his red lycra outfit all week continued to turn heads, Hungarian deputy Adam Kosa from the conservative Hungarian Civic Union party also made history by being the first deaf MEP to be elected to the European parliament.

On Wednesday he was given the honour of being the first speaker to address the plenary session, a platform he used to launch an attack on discrimination against minority languages.

"Those that I have bumped into this week in the Strasbourg parliament have treated me as an equal, it's a great novelty compared to being in Hungary," Mr Kosa told the chamber.

Mr Kosa sits in his place like any other MEP but has two personal translators sitting in front of him who use the microphone to tell the floor what he is saying and relay interventions from the floor back to him.

The Hungarian deputy was highly critical of the newly amended Slovak State Language Act which he says will have serious repercussion for minority language speakers in the EU country if it comes into force. Around 10 percent of Slovakia's population speaks Hungarian.

Under the amended law, the use of a minority language in official communication would be punishable by a fine in towns and villages where the ethnic minority makes up less than 20 percent of the total population.

"One must respect equal opportunities. I particularly defend deaf people, but I would like all minority speakers to have this possibility," said the 34 year-old lawyer.