Czech President Not Attending Rome Conference on EU Constitution

Czech President Vaclav Klaus, who is considered a euroskeptic, will not attend a meeting this weekend on a constitution for the soon-to-be-expanded European Union, his press office said Wednesday. The Czech Republic will instead be represented at the so-called inter-governmental conference (IGC) in Rome that begins Saturday by Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla. Klaus, a nationalist in the mold of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, opposes the text being drawn up under the leadership of former french president Valery Giscard d'Estaing. Klaus regards the draft constitution as "a radical step" toward transforming Europe into a federalist state. He had been invited to attend the Rome meeting against the wishes of his pro-EU government but decided Wednesday that he would not be going, while attending a government meeting on the Czech position at the IGC. Klaus and Spidla talked about the Czech position for an hour Tuesday. The president has vowed to work to "safeguard structures so that we won't dissolve into a supranational melting pot." The Czech Republic is one of 10 countries that also include Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia which will be joining the European Union in May.