Lisbon treaty up for approval in Prague parliament

In all probability the Czech lower house of parliament will approve the Treaty of Lisbon today, Wednesday, thus enabling the document to overcome its first parliamentary hurdle in Prague. The leftist daily Právo defends the Treaty against the criticism of President Václav Klaus. "In his battle against EU integration Klaus is fond of citing an Australian professor who describes the EU as a powerful cartel that is bringing down society. I see this differently. Nowhere in the world do as many people enjoy social security as the 500 million who live in the EU. Four, five or even six weeks holidays, health insurance for everyone, far-reaching protection against dismissal. What if the US had this kind of privileges? If this is how the way down looks what does the way up look like? … It is high time to make a further step towards integration. The EU is a key economic power, already richer than the US but a dwarf in political and military terms. The Treaty of Lisbon could help to change this."

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