European Union

Czech President Vaclav Klaus presented his idea of the European Union as a community of sovereign states in his lecture at the World Affairs Council in Los Angeles on Tuesday local time.

"I suggest to redefine the whole concept of the European Union, not just to make cosmetic changes. I suggest going back to the intergovernmental model of European integration ... to the original concept of attempting to remove all kinds of barriers, going back to the consistent liberalisation and opening-up of all markets," Klaus said.

He supported the minimising of political intervention in human activities. Where intervention is inevitable, it should be done as close to citizens as possible - "at the level of municipalities, regions and states, and not in Brussels," Klaus added.

Freedom, democracy and prosperity in Europe cannot be achieved by "democratic deficit, supranationalism, etatism," -- that is, by the union's attempts to interfere in the political and economic life of a particular country, by an increasing number of laws and regulations, Klaus said.

He said that Europe needs a system of ideas based on freedom, personal responsibility and individualism.

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He added that the economic system must not be burdened by excessive state regulations, budget deficits, the state protection of certain privileged industries and companies and by complicated labour market legislation.

Klaus said that the social system must get rid itself of all possible kinds of obstacles, "more than generous" welfare benefits, large-scale income redistribution, and other forms of the "government paternalism."

"Europe needs a system of relations and relationships of individual countries which must not be based on false internationalism, on supranational organisations and on a misunderstanding of globalisation, but [is based] on the good neighbourliness of free, sovereign countries and on international pacts and agreements," Klaus concluded.