Disputes over the European Constitution and ‘Euro-Scepticism’ in Czech Republic

Abstract

Despite the poll, held in Jan. 2005 by Euro barometer, showed that more than 60 percents of the Czech were willing to vote for the European Constitution, the majority of Czech MEPs opposed to it. Futhermore, although Lisbon Treaty was signed by 27 member states in 2007, the issue about the European integration is still disputable in Czech Republic. Lisbon Treaty will be passed the parliament by majority vote, but some politicians and opponents are still arguing that the treaty will be have to be approved through a referendum because it will give over sovereignty to supra-national institution according to the Constitution of Czech Republic. In this paper, I try to explain for what reason there were so many opponents in MEPs and what was the reason for that. Firstly, I try to find out what is the reason of Euro-scepticism in Czech Republic and that the opposition to the European Constitution and some skeptic views towards European Union has been derived from it. Secondly, I look into the causes and developments of the dispute over the European Constitution among political parties. And the last section, I concentrate on the differences with which political parties define their attitudes towards the European Union and the Constitution. The referendum on the European Constitution was not held in Czech Republic. After Lisbon Treaty was signed in 2007, euro-skeptic parties and opponents have been rejecting the decision which is to be passed parliament. They are still insisting that Lisbon Treaty is the same one as the previous European Constitution, so it is necessary to decide through a referendum whether the treaty is to be accepted or not. In these situations, it is clear that the European Union's prospects look rather bleak and it must overcome present difficult situations to maintain its existence and further development at least in Czech Republic.