經濟廣角:捷克爲《里斯本條約》設置新障礙
Czechs put new hurdle in way of Lisbon pact
Vaclav Klaus, the Eurosceptic Czech president, yesterday put up yet another hurdle before ratifying the Lisbon treaty, a demand for an opt-out from the pact's charter of rights and freedoms similar to that obtained by Britain and Poland.
“Before the ratification, the Czech Republic must at least ex post negotiate a similar exemption,” Mr Klaus said, explaining that the opt-out is needed to prevent the heirs of the millions of Sudeten Germans expelled after the second world war from filing land claims to regain their property. “It [the treaty] endangers the legal status of the citizens and the stability of property rights in our country.”
Mr Klaus's new demand stirred confusion a week after Irish voters appeared to clarify the bloc's future by approving the treaty in a second referendum. Lisbon, first proposed in 2001, is seen as vital to streamlining the EU and allowing it to project greater power on the world stage.
Although the Czech parliament has approved the treaty, Mr Klaus has refused to sign, first saying he would wait for the Irish referendum, then saying his hands were tied because of a second appeal filed by rebel senators before the Czech courts.
Some EU officials dismissed the new request as another delaying tactic, noting that the Czech president had let two years pass without explicitly raising the Sudeten issue.
Others argued that Mr Klaus's statement could perversely nudge the treaty toward adoption because it had at last clarified his position. “Now we know what he wants,” said a diplomat from Sweden.
對歐盟持懷疑態度的捷克共和國總統瓦茨拉夫•克勞斯(Vaclav Klaus)昨日要求豁免《里斯本條約》(Lisbon treaty)中的權利與自由章節（類似於英國和波蘭），從而在批准該條約前又設置了一個障礙。
克勞斯表示：“在批准之前，捷克共和國必須至少就類似的豁免提前協商。”他解釋稱，之所以有必要獲得豁免，是爲了防止二戰後被驅逐的數百萬蘇臺德德國人的後裔提交土地要求要回他們的財產。“它（《里斯本條約》）危及我國居民的合法地位和財產權利的穩定”。
一週前，愛爾蘭選民在第二次全民公投中批准了里斯本條約，似乎讓歐盟的未來變得清晰起來，而克勞斯的新要求則引發了混亂。2001年被首次提出的《里斯本條約》被認爲在優化歐盟以及允許歐盟在世界舞臺上發揮更大作用方面至關重要。
儘管捷克議會已批准了里斯本條約，但克勞斯拒絕簽署該條約。他先表示，將等待愛爾蘭全民公投，隨後又稱，由於反對該條約的參議員在捷克法院第二次提起上訴，他無法簽署條約。
一些歐盟官員將新要求看作克勞斯的又一個緩兵之計，他們表示，這位捷克總統讓兩年時間白白過去，並沒有明確提出蘇臺德問題。
其他人則辯稱，克勞斯的聲明可能反而會推動里斯本條約的批准，因爲他最終闡明瞭自己的立場。一位瑞典外交官表示：“現在我們知道了他所要的東西。”
