Related articles

EU officials have criticized the Czech-U.S. memorandum of understanding that paves the way for the inclusion of the Czech Republic in the U.S. visa-waiver programme. Citing European Commission sources, the Brussels-based daily Europolitics reported on Thursday that the bilateral Czech-American deal might “scupper” the current agreement between the United States and the old EU member states on data transfers concerning passengers travelling to the U.S. by air. Slovenian Interior Minister Dragutin Mate, whose country currently presides over the European Union, said that most EU countries want to negotiate visa agreements with the United States under a common strategy. Czech Interior Minister Ivan Langer rejected the criticism saying that the Czech-U.S. memorandum is in line with EU legislation. Mr Langer also pointed out that the Czech Republic had been waiting for four years for the EU to take action leading to the abolishing of U.S. visas for the new EU countries, and only then did the Czechs start negotiating with the Bush administration.

The European Commission has said it has not ruled out taking legal action against the Czech Republic for unilaterally signing a memorandum of understanding with the United States that is a first step towards the Czech Republic being included in the US visa waiver programme. The Commission has expressed concern that the memorandum might include a promise to provide sensitive personal data on people travelling to the US, which went beyond EU policy.

Left-wing Communist and Social Democrat MPs have also said they are unhappy with the personal data requirements in the document and say the government should have consulted more closely with the EU on the issue.

For his part, Czech prime minister Mirek Topolánek has said that the memorandum should enable the Czech Republic to finally achieve its longstanding ambition to join the US visa waiver programme later this year and that the arrangement could serve as a model for other EU countries.

“The fulfillment of a dream for a generation of Czechs” is how Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek described the signing on Tuesday of a document that paves the way for Czechs to visit the United States without a visa. However, Czech citizens will have to provide detailed information to US officials prior to travelling, and Prague’s go-it-alone approach to visa negotiations has ruffled feathers in Brussels.

In 2001, if a Czech paid 50 dollars for a book or a record from an American-based internet vendor like Amazon, he would have forked out around 2000 crowns for his purchase. Today, he would only have to pay 800 crowns. That’s because the crown – or koruna as it’s called in Czech – has been steadily appreciating over the past decade. Since the start of the year, however, the gains it has made against other currencies like the dollar and the euro have been spectacular and have taken most economists by surprise.

The Czech Republic has not been implementing EU directives into its statute books on time and may face court proceedings and fines by the European Commission, the daily Právo reported. The Czech Republic, which is reportedly lagging behind all other EU countries in this respect, has yet to implement 55 directives on the EU internal market. The country has been having trouble meeting the deadlines for several years, with the biggest delay in health care. The Finance Ministry has dismissed the criticism, claiming that the Czech Republic is no worse than most other EU countries in this regard.

Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek leaves on a three-day working visit the United States on Monday. His meetings with US President George Bush and American top officials are expected to revolve around two outstanding issues in bilateral relations – the lifting of visa restrictions for Czechs travelling to the US and Czech participation in the US missile defence programme.

MEPs from the biggest party in the Czech coalition government the Civic Democrats abstained in a vote on the Treaty of Lisbon at the European Parliament on Wednesday. A report on the document being debated by MEPs expressed regret that some elements of an earlier failed EU constitution were not preserved in the Lisbon Treaty, which has replaced it. Czech MEP Jan Zahradil, a senior Civic Democrat, said that expression of regret meant the report ran counter to the Czech government’s position. However, Czech Social Democrat MEP Libor Rouček described the Civic Democrats’ position as embarrassing, given that the party leads the Czech government, which has signed the treaty.

The Czech Republic will hold the rotating presidency of the EU in the first half of 2009, when the Treaty of Lisbon may come into effect, if it has been ratified by all member states by the end of this year.

The Czech Republic plans to sign an agreement with the United States, outlining conditions for future visa-free relations between the two countries, despite EU pressure on Prague not to do so. The Czech deputy PM for European affairs, Alexandr Vondra, told journalists on Monday that Prague was not negotiating behind the EU’s back, but that simply waiting for further developments was not a way forward, in his opinion. Brussels is trying to persuade the Czech Republic to at least delay signing an accord with the US on entering into its visa-waiver programme. Some EU countries are worried that US demands within the agreement infringe data protection laws. It is feared that if the Czech Republic signs an agreement, then there will be increased pressure upon other EU members to follow suit.

The Czech Republic remains reserved towards recognizing Kosovo as an independent country. After the former Serbian province proclaimed independence on Sunday, Czech diplomats said they would wait for a common EU strategy on the issue. But a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday failed to reach any joint policy towards Kosovo, and the Czech Foreign Ministry has set down its own conditions for the recognition of Kosovo.

Germany’s Bertelsmann Foundation has ranked the Czech Republic first among transforming countries, ahead of Slovenia, Estonia, and Taiwan, in an important study conducted over the last two years. The foundation’s so-called Transformation Index rated a total of 125 states, taking into account both political and economic criteria.