Friday

29th Mar 2024

Klaus not to chair EU leaders summit

  • Vaclav Klaus - criticised in some parts of the EU, winning awards in others (Photo: Wikipedia)

Czech President Vaclav Klaus will not chair a high-profile meeting of EU leaders in June, his office has announced.

Mr Klaus "proposed that Prime Minister Jan Fischer should chair June's EU summit in Brussels on behalf of the Czech presidency," his office said in a statement.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

"The president has full trust in the prime minister and has no doubt that he will handle this role easily and with success."

The move is likely to be greeted with relief by EU diplomats who feared the president would use the gathering to air his strong opposition to the EU's Lisbon treaty, compounding what many view as a damaging past few months for the bloc under the gaffe-prone Czech presidency.

The summit chair became the hot topic of conversation in Brussels after the Czech government fell in March due to a vote of no confidence.

At the meeting EU leaders are due to sign off a series of treaty guarantees on tax, neutrality and ethical issues as part of a political package for Ireland, whose citizens will vote on the Lisbon document for a second time in the autumn, having rejected it last year.

There had been talk of moving the summit to July when it would be chaired by next EU presidency country Sweden.

Ireland, which had favoured keeping the summit in June for domestic timetable reasons, has been working on fast-tracking its treaty guarantees so that they would be agreed before the summit.

The Klaus-Fischer agreement will instead see the maverick Czech president chair the EU-Russia and EU-China summits.

Austria's highest honour

But even as Mr Klaus has attracted criticism in some parts of the EU, he is winning awards in others.

Austria's Wiener Zeitung reports that the Czech president will receive the country's highest honour, the Great Honorary Star for Achievements for the Republic of Austria.

The gong, agreed by the government on Wednesday, is in recognition of Mr Klaus' efforts to overcome communism, a spokesperson for Austria's president said.

Ukraine slams grain trade restrictions at EU summit

Restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural exports to the EU could translate into military losses in their bid to stop Russia's war, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned EU leaders during their summit in Brussels on Thursday.

Difficult talks ahead on financing new EU defence spending

With the war in Ukraine showing no signs of ending any time soon, EU leaders will meet in Brussels on Thursday and Friday (21 and 22 March) to discuss how to boost the defence capabilities of Ukraine and of the bloc itself.

Opinion

Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Rather than assuming a pro-European Labour government in London will automatically open doors in Brussels, the Labour party needs to consider what it may be able to offer to incentivise EU leaders to factor the UK into their defence thinking.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us