Guardian, Tuesday April 20, 2004
The Czechs see EU membership as their birthright, but are cautious about exactly, what to expect form it, writes Ian Traynor
In Prague, a city that prides itself on being the heart of Europe, the citizens – like the Czechs generally – view membership of the EU as their birthright.
So when 10 million Czechs join the union on May 1, there will be quiet satisfaction in the city, which lies to the west of
Despite the scenes of euphoria that accompanied the drama in
„Those of us with experience of Soviet rule are suspicious of distant bureaucracies,“ says Alexandr Vondra, the former deputy foreign minister.
In their president, Vaclav Klaus, the Czechs have a national leader who is the most vocal critic of the EU in all the 10 incoming states. His rightwing opposition party, the ODS, could find itself back in power next year, meaning that relations between
As with many of the new EU member countries, the Czechs currently have an extremely weak government, which is vulnerable to opposition attacks on its European policies.
Mr Spidla, a Social Democrat, may head a coalition, but his junior partners, the Christian Democrats, appear to be manoeuvring to join Mr Klaus’s ODS next year.
Mr Klaus rarely misses an opportunity to have a go at
„Everybody supports the idea [of EU membership],“ says Petr Gandalovic, the mayor of the northern town of
„But when it comes to the practical consequences of membership, there are lots of questions and criticism. People are rather sceptical about what to expect from the EU and they feel a little bit cheated.“
That is a sentiment felt broadly across central
The former Dutch prime minister, Wim Kok, recently said that he regretted EU enlargement and feared it would not work. The French establishment has long been lukewarm about opening the EU to the east.
While the Austrians are among the biggest winners from the opening up of central
An opinion poll in
The Czechs, like the other newcomers, are acutely sensitive to such hostility, and resent the expectation that they are supposed to show gratitude for obtaining what they feel is their entitlement.
They are also deeply wary of German intentions. The relationship with
The German right, led by Bavaria’s governing Christian Social Union, was at the forefront of the campaign, threatening a boycott of the Czech negotiations with Brussels unless Prague gave in. It did not. In
In what, to the Czechs, was an unforgiveable act, the CSU caucus in the European parliament in
The Czechs feel bullied. But they are less than intimidated, and the experience will colour their conduct within the EU, determining alliances and positions in EU policy-making.
There seems little doubt that, ultimately, the shift from 15 to 25 members will produce a seismic change in the way in which EU policymaking works.
„A
Mr Gandalovic agrees that it will be extremely difficult to run a Europe of 25 members, and so he expects the Franco-German-led hard core of integrationists to try to push ahead with a two-tier
„They will have a tendency to find what is in their interests and come to negotiations with a pre-agreed position. That will produce resistance, and a balance may emerge.“
While
„We’re not happy with the constitution, with the rules being changed right at the moment when we are joining,“ Mr Gandalovic adds. „We feel we’ve been double-crossed, and we expect more in the future.“
It is not an optimistic note, but a widespread sentiment that the east Europeans are being admitted on sufferance, and grudgingly.