POLAND: Presidents of Poland and Czech republic agree EU constitution cannot go ahead in current form

Presidents of Poland and Czech republic agree EU constitution cannot go ahead in current form. The presidents of Poland and the Czech Republic spoke out on Thursday (January 25) night against what they saw as excessively close integration of the European Union, confirming their scepticism towards the EU constitution. Czech President Vaclav Klaus and Poland's Lech Kaczynski met in Warsaw to discuss the EU constitution and reform of its institutions -- something that was rejected in 2005 by French and Dutch voters. "We have the impression that something has to be done, that the Constitution Charter in its present form is not to be used, it is not to be accepted," Klaus told a news conference. He was echoed by his Polish counterpart. "We do not see a crisis in the EU right now. There are difficulties of course, there always are in an organisation which numbers 25, 27 members since a month ago. The difficulties will always be there, but the decision making process is taking place. Are reforms needed? They are needed. ...As the president (Klaus) said at the moment we do not see the need for a revolution," Kaczynski said. Germany is trying to revive the discussion and gather proposals for a new document during its current six-month EU presidency. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has put the issue at the top of her European agenda, will meet Klaus later on Friday (January 26). Poland and the Czech Republic are among nine countries that have not ratified the treaty, which aimed to streamline the workings of the bloc, which now has 27 members. Klaus said this week he was in favour of a document that would halt integration of the bloc by "stealth", a project he said was being driven by officials behind the backs of EU citizens. Andrzej Krawczyk, the Polish president's foreign policy adviser, told Reuters that Poland would probably present its proposals next month and that Kaczynski would decide whether to hold a referendum on the constitution when there was some progress in talks within the bloc. According to opinion polls, more than 60 percent of Poles are in favour of an EU charter. Kaczynski and Klaus also discussed a proposal for a U.S. missile shield system during their talks. American proposals for the project have recently been received by both governments. Lt. Gen. Henry Obering, head of the Pentagon's missile defence agency, said the United States wanted up to 10 ground-based interceptors in Poland and an advanced radar station in the Czech Republic. Kaczynski appeared supportive of the proposal. "In general the idea of anti-missile system against irresponsible powers is certainly a good one. As the president has just said we'll talk about the details... and the location for the system or the radar is a detail." The aim of the defence system is to counter what U.S. officials project to be a long-range Iranian missile threat by 2011 or 2012. The U.S. State Department said on Sunday (January 21) the Czech Republic and Poland had agreed to start detailed discussions with Washington.

ITN Source | January 29, 2007

Tags:. .towards. .crisis. .advanced. .threat. .germany