Letter from Petr Mach to Jerzy Buzek, President of the European Parliament

Jerzy Buzek
President of the European Parliament

Dear Mr. Buzek, dear Jerzy,

I am taking the opportunity of the fact that we know each other from our previous activities to write you this letter.

First of all, I would like to congratulate you on your election as the President of the European parliament!

Now, as a citizen of the Czech Republic and the leader of the Free Citizens Party (Strana svobodných občanů), let me express my concerns over the increasing interference of the representatives of the European Union with the process of ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon in the Czech Republic.

It is my understanding that this is a treaty between 27 sovereign states, while the EU itself is not a contracting party, and it would be made a legal entity by the Treaty.

We therefore deem it highly inappropriate that a representative of the European Union is interfering with the affairs of a sovereign country, as your visit in the Czech Republic seems to be just that. The European parliament or the European Commission plays no role in this process.

It is entirely up to the Czech Republic whether it decides to ratify the Lisbon Treaty or not. According to the Czech constitution, it is the President of the Czech Republic who ratifies treaties, not the Prime Minister or the Parliament.

Your meeting with the Prime Minister Jan Fischer as well as the recent meeting between the European Commission President, José Manuel Barroso, and the leader of ODS, Mirek Topolanek, seem to be inappropriate. (Mr. Topolanek even mentioned threats after meeting Mr. Barroso that the Czech Republic could lose its commissioner if the treaty is not ratified soon.)

Therefore, in order to refute this mischief I am asking you to declare clearly that

1) There is no possibility whatsoever to punish the Czech Republic for not ratifying the Treaty of Lisbon;

2) You, as the President of the European Parliament, fully respect the ratification procedure in the Czech Republic and the fact that the EU itself is not a contracting party to this treaty but only a mere object of this treaty.

Yours sincerely,

Petr Mach
Leader of the Free Citizens Party