President of the Czech Republic Václav Klaus, back when he held the post of prime minister of the republic, predicted: “We will dissolve in the EU like sugar in coffee.” He expressed the fears of a certain part of Czech society about losing national identity. However, that part of citizens skeptical of Europe turned out to be too small, which became clear already during the parliamentary elections in June of last year. And the referendum on joining the EU, held in mid-June of this year, left skeptics no chance: over 77% of voters spoke in favor of the Czech Republic's accession to the EU, writes the magazine “Europa”.
In the geographical center of Europe
They say that the president still holds his opinion to this day. This, in particular, was suggested by Miroslav Rončák, director of the representative office of the National Tourist Administration of the Czech Republic in Russia, the CIS and the Baltic countries. Although he himself noted that this question is not within his competence and that he is closer to the problems of the tourist business. According to him, tourism alone brought the Czech Republic 3 billion euros last year. They come from Germany, Poland, Italy, Slovakia, the Netherlands, the USA, France, Austria, Spain - mostly the EU. The countries of the former Union do not occupy first positions in this list, for example, Russia is only in 11th place. But visitors from the east spend money for three.
In a year, the Czech Republic is visited by ten tourists per each resident of the country. What makes it so attractive? How does Prague enchant practically everyone who has walked its streets? The beauty of the ancient city is not only in specific historical monuments, but above all in that inexplicably attractive spirit that has reigned here for centuries. According to scientific data, around the 5th-6th centuries, Slavs came to the territory of the Czech Republic.
Not far from Plzeň is the geographical center of Europe. Today this fact, which until recently was questioned, is considered irrefutable. And if so, then the entire history of the Czech Republic is harmoniously woven into the history of the continent. None of the most important events, both in the East and in the West, passed this country by.
Referendum - That's Something New
The June referendum of this year became the first in the history of a country known for its democratic traditions (by the way, even ministers of the Prague government ride trams). Despite the dacha season, voter turnout was 55%. 77% “for”, almost 23% “against” - such were the results. Prime Minister Vladimír Špidla thanked his fellow citizens: “This is a historic day that will go into all textbooks. This is a historic result. A fateful question was being decided, the answer is clear and unwavering: yes.” The referendum passed calmly and without incidents, and in the evening of June 14, a large concert took place on Hradčany Square, the sky over Prague was illuminated by fireworks.
And yet 23% “against” is significant. Opponents began to show activity already after 1996, when the Czech Republic officially submitted its application to join the EU. The resistance of farmers is especially noticeable, although overall the influence of the Czech agrarian lobby is relatively weak: only 4% of the population is employed in agriculture. But when farmers, using excavators, tractors and other agricultural machinery, blocked border roads, waved placards at every checkpoint like: “Liquidation of Czech agriculture - a pass to the EU?” - the whole country saw it. Outrage was caused by the agreement that will be provided to the Czech Republic and other candidate countries for joining the EU: farmers of these states will initially receive only 25% of the subsidies allocated to current EU members.
In addition, the Czech Republic must fulfill several conditions. Firstly, Czech-Austrian relations are overshadowed by the problem of Temelín - a nuclear power plant in the south of the Czech Republic near the Austrian border. It is relatively new, was commissioned in 2001, and numerous international expert examinations, including those of the EU, have confirmed the environmental safety of the plant. The demand to close the Temelín plant is a favorite topic of the Austrian opposition, trying to attract votes of voters concerned about the “ghost of Chernobyl”. One of the outcomes of the Copenhagen summit of December 12-13, 2002 for the Czech Republic was the actual settlement of the Temelín dispute: the Prime Ministers of Austria and the Czech Republic agreed that only the phrase about “fulfillment of previously adopted commitments regarding the safety of the plant's operation” will be included in the treaty on the accession of the Czech Republic to the EU. Now possible disputes will be resolved with the participation of Brussels. For the Czech Republic, Temelín is a source of cheap electricity, significant income from its export, as well as the opportunity to close environmentally harmful brown coal mines in the northwest of the Czech Republic.
Secondly, the conflict situation is connected with the so-called Beneš decrees, on the basis of which Germans and Hungarians living there were expelled from post-war Czechoslovakia as accomplices of the fascists. No one has repealed the decrees, but from now on it has become clear: only historians will deal with this problem now; no obstacles for the Czech Republic's accession to the EU will arise in this regard.
Among the concessions that the Czech Republic achieved in the conditions of the country's accession to the European Union, there is also such as the confirmation of the Czech priority regarding the trademarks “Budějovické pivo” and “Českobudějovické pivo”, which is included directly in the text of the accession treaty. Alcohol will continue to be added to home-made slivovitz, despite the prohibitive norms of the EU.
The European Commission is particularly concerned about corruption and crime. These problems, according to Czech political scientist Pehe, can only be solved in the long term: "Corruption has no specific causes. Rather, it has become an entrenched part of the political culture that the Czech Republic, like other post-communist countries, inherited from the old regime. Thus, to some extent, it is a matter of generational change."
The Czech Republic will become a full member of the EU in May 2004, along with other "first wave" candidates. The republic will not become a member of the Schengen area immediately - this will happen only after a year and a half, that is, on January 1, 2006.
According to experts, joining Greater Europe will bring the Czech Republic a number of benefits and difficulties. What advantages will EU membership give the Czech Republic? Free duty-free access to a huge market; the chance to get a job in any EU country without first obtaining a work permit; the opportunity to study at the best European universities; free access to the latest scientific discoveries; free movement within the Schengen area; higher requirements for the quality of work of state and judicial bodies; a rise in the standard of living and wages.
But participation in the EU also carries certain risks: price increases are expected, quotas limiting agricultural production are introduced; there will be fierce competition with the developed economies of the EU countries, and the possibility of protecting oneself with import quotas and duties will disappear.
What the coming day brings...
"Will we, Czechs, thanks to joining the European Union, be as rich as the Austrians or at least as the Portuguese?" asks the newspaper "Mladá fronta Dnes". And it itself answers: "Yes, we will." There will be a holiday on our street too, but we will have to wait a bit - about forty years. The gap between the economies of Western and Eastern European states, according to London economists, will have to be overcome in about 55 years - that is, it will take approximately the same time as the process of separation of East from West during the Cold War. The Czech Republic is in a very enviable starting position compared to other candidate countries, so Czechs could be among the EU's "middleweights" already in 39 years. And the Czech Republic could reach the level of countries such as Portugal and Greece within 20 years. With one caveat - if everything goes well. "Candidate countries will get many opportunities in the EU, but little certainty," warn economists. And if they fail to use the benefits provided by the European Union for their own prosperity, it may turn out that their rich neighbors will continue to pull ahead.
Most experts rightly believe that Czechs will receive salaries at the level of, for example, Germans only after several decades - because with EU accession, salaries will not increase by themselves; everything will depend on the success of the country's own economy. However, experts are confident that labor productivity in the Czech economy will gradually grow: European integration will only contribute to this. And if now the incomes of Czech citizens on average amount to one fifth of their German neighbors, then by 2008 the average monthly salary in the Czech Republic could increase to 25,000 crowns (760 euros), that is, become 10,000 more than now.