CZECH PRESIDENT Vaclav Klaus, a staunch critic of the European Union and of the Lisbon Treaty, has rounded on Brussels after Canada made visas mandatory for Czech visitors.
Mr Klaus complained that EU rules prevented Prague from banning visa-free travel for Canadians in retaliation for Ottawa’s decision, which was prompted by a huge surge in Czechs claiming refugee status in Canada – the vast majority of them Roma who say they face violent discrimination at home.
“This is the big difference between Canada and the Czech Republic’s possibilities,” Mr Klaus said. “As you well know, Canada can decide and the Czech Republic cannot. It’s Brussels that has to decide for us.”
Prague has reinstated visas for Canadian diplomats, recalled its ambassador for consultations and asked EU states to support its position, but cannot unilaterally impose visa restrictions on all Canadians.
Mr Klaus believes the EU has too much power over its member states and that the Lisbon Treaty would give it even more. The Czech parliament has approved the treaty, but Mr Klaus says he will not sign it into law until all legal challenges to it have been exhausted across the EU.
The visa dispute is also likely to play a role in campaigning for the Czech general election in October, with mainstream parties blaming each other for the dispute and analysts predicting that it could benefit ultra-nationalists.
Canada says the visa regime will stem a flood of would-be refugees from the Czech Republic. Only a handful of Czechs sought refugee status in Canada in 2006, but since the visa requirement was lifted in 2007 more than 3,000 have done so. Roma rights groups blame successive Czech governments for failing to combat racism and to halt the rise of often-violent far-right groups.
