Paris, 2 June 2009 – Vaclav Klaus, Czech Republic President, said on Tuesday that the European Union (EU) should not build an autonomous defence structure in parallel to NATO.

Addressing the Assembly for the first time, he stated that NATO “is the crucial” defence institution for the western world. “Let’s not try to play some additional games”, he declared.

But in a wide-ranging speech, he applauded the role WEU has played in European integration. In particular, the WEU Assembly “does not suffer from the democratic deficit and lack of accountability that are so symptomatic of the functioning of many other European institutions. It could help remove “some of the existing barriers” between NATO and the EU and contribute to much needed defence and security cooperation within Europe.

Summing up the Czech Presidency of the EU, due to end on 30 June and whose slogan has been “Europe without barriers”, he said he was satisfied that there had been no “increase in protectionism and excessive regulation” in the EU as a result of the financial and economic crisis. He reaffirmed that he remained “permanently” opposed to the Lisbon Treaty – although he declined to comment on whether the country would ratify the treaty if Ireland does so in October – and felt that the door should remain open to Croatia, Turkey and other potential new EU members in the region.

 “We are concerned” he said “about the fact that decision-making in the EU is becoming increasingly distant from the citizens, about the fact that various integration initiatives are not based on the authentic interests of the member states and their citizens, but rather are prefabricated and imposed from above”.  Taking questions, he said he saw nothing in the Lisbon Treaty that increased the role of national parliaments. On the contrary, the Treaty provided for a “radical shift” in power to the “non-elected bureaucrats” in Brussels.

As for wider EU membership, “the more, the better”, he said, as this would lead to “less intensive unification” rather than integration, and would help ensure that the EU did not become a “VIP club”.