Current status concerning EU Constitution:
• The Referendum was suspended following French/Dutch rejection in 2005
• The Czech government has called for a new text to be adopted. Czech President Vaclav Klaus has said that “all the political forces in the Czech Republic consider the treaty to have practically stopped after it was rejected by France and the Netherlands." (Forbes, 23 May 2006)
UPDATES
• 16 June 2006: "The summit's main conclusion is to prolong the period of reflection and not to push for further ratification," said Czech President Vaclav Klaus after the EU Summit in Brussels (15-16 June). "It means that the formal termination of the ratification process was postponed." (Direction Générale de l'Information, European Parliament, Brussels)
• 04 June 2006: President Vaclav Klaus' EU-critical, centre-right ODS party (Civic Democratic Party) got the highest percentage at the Czech national elections on 2-3 June 2006 (35.4%) beating the Social Democrats by nearly 3 percentage points (32.3%). A grand coalition is expected to govern.
• 01 June 2006: The EU-critical centre-right ODS party is leading in polls ahead of the Czech general elections on 3 June 2006, according to FT Deutschland. The party led by president Vaclav Klaus, a staunch opponent of the EU constitution, is five to six percentage points ahead of the governing social democrats.
• 05 May 2006: According to the Eurobarometer results:
- 44% think their country's EU membership is "a good thing"
- 14% chose "a common constitution" when asked to choose two from six options concerning what "would be most helpful for the Future of Europe"
- 20% chose "a common constitution" when asked to choose two from six options concerning what "would strengthen your feelings about being a European citizen"
Snippets:
• May 2006: Despite the fact that the EU is present in the programs of most political parties in the Czech republic the EU topic has been forced out, especially in debates and campaign rallies, says commentator ADAM ?ERNÝ.
• April 2006: According to a survey by the Centrum pro výzkum ve?ejného mín?ní (Public Opinion Research Centre) 45 % of Czech citizens are in favour of adopting the euro, while 43 % oppose joining the European currency. State authorities do not expect the euro to be adopted before 2010. According to Deputy Finance Minister TOMÁŠ PROUZA, the Czech Republic meets all the Maastricht criteria needed to adopt the euro.