Klaus' powerful pen

The controversy surrounding the nomination and subsequent resignation of Miloš Kužvart as EU commissioner has overshadowed what could potentially be a much greater EU issue. President Václav Klaus told Czech Radio in mid-Feb. that he's going to take more interest in some of the international treaties the CR enters into. Never, according to Václav Havel, has a Czech president rejected a proposed treaty. Klaus came close to doing so recently with the Vatican treaty, but Premier Vladimír Špidla and Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda withdrew it instead of risking a veto. The draft EU Constitution isn't yet ready for resubmission but might be by the end of the year. A decision by Klaus to reject the Constitution - which is actually an international treaty - would be a major political statement. And it is one his recent comments suggest he might be eager to make.