The Czech Republic should not set excessive goals of its forthcoming EU presidency, Czech President Vaclav Klaus said during the talks with Senate chairman Premysl Sobotka in Prague on Tuesday.
"We both have the feeling of certain sobriety," Klaus said, explaining their approach to the EU presidency, scheduled for the first half of 2009.
Klaus said that the Presidential Office with the government and parliament representatives are now tuning up the division of tasks for the presidency.
Czech will take up the EU presidency after France in January, 2009, and they will be replaced by Sweden in July.
The three countries have presented their joint program, including the re-assessment of the EU expenditures, a reform of the common agricultural policy, energy security and climate protection.
The Czech Republic is to earmark a total of 3.3 billion crowns (1 U.S. dollars equals 15.410 Czech crowns) for the preparation and course of the EU presidency, the Czech media reported.
Klaus was the EU's only senior politician to explicitly welcome the Irish "no" in June, while other countries' leaders suggested that the ratification process should continue.
The Czech Republic, one of the EU countries not to have ratified the reform treaty yet, pushed through at the summit in Brussels in June a clause, saying that the ratification process in the country would be suspended until the Constitutional Court assesses the treaty's compatibility with Czech law.
The Lisbon Treaty replaces the EU constitution treaty that was rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005.
To take effect, the treaty needs approval from all the 27 EU countries.
Source:Xinhua
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