EU, from a skeptic's point of view
Vaclav Klaus, president of the Czech Republic and a free-market economist by training, is a lonely figure among European politicians. While many of his fellow Euro-pols have championed the drive toward centralization, Klaus has been a skeptic. He fears Czechs could lose some of their newly won freedoms if power migrates to Brussels. And he fears for Europe's economic relations with the United States. ''Instead of building a state of Europe, I would be very happy with a Europe of states," Klaus told an overflow audience at Brandeis University's Shapiro Campus Center last month. ''I do not think the era of nation states is over. I think nation states are the home of democracy." Klaus, who helped lead his country's post-communist transition from a state-owned economy to private property and free markets, said his ideas were roundly criticized by European leaders at a recent confer in Seville, Spain. There he was told a strong European Union was needed to counter American dominance. But considering French and Dutch voters rejected the proposed EU constitution this year, Klaus thinks a gap is growing between European citizens and their leaders. He said it's time for a period of reflection before accelerating the move toward centralization. Relatively few Americans have been paying attention to the debate over European integration, which is raging across the Atlantic. But as Klaus's remarks made clear, how it plays out will have a profound impact on the United States and the emerging global economy. While he acknowledged the EU ''is here to stay," Klaus criticized some of its continent-wide directives in areas like noise control and cited the excesses of European Commission regulators who reject the mergers of US-based multinationals or require Microsoft to unbundle its Internet browser from its Windows operating system. Such moves are more about creating roadblocks for American business than promoting competition and economic vitality in Europe, he contended. Klaus also poked fun at the European Parliament, which he described as so cavernous that its members need binoculars to look across the hall at one another. ''In this parliament, I don't think the 24 Czech representatives can influence anything important," Klaus said. ''The decisions are made not by us, but in a rather remote city where our voices are hardly heard."
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