Latest Vaclav Klaus Quotes from Interviews

Quotes about:

• Human relations tend to be more difficult when you're dealing with someone who weighs 30 kilograms more than you do. That's when you worry about whether a well-meaning gesture could produce complications. We have no problems with countries like Madagascar or Bolivia, for example. But Germany is our neighbor and we have a shared past. Besides, Germany is powerful and ambitious and more than four times as large as we are. It makes complete sense that we would act cautiously. It's simply Realpolitik.

  Vaclav Klaus

  Country, Powerful, Past

  "'The Past Is the Past'". Interview with Christian Neef and Jan Puhl, Renata Hanusova, www.spiegel.de. March 13, 2006.

• But how can you speed up the transformation of society in a country as large as Russia? Those sounding the moral outcry are the ones who are trying to dictate their standards from the outside. Of course, that isn't the right way to go either. One cannot impose democracy from the other side of national borders, which is something we ourselves experienced during the communist era. The West's policies toward Eastern Europe, the Helsinki process - none of that really helped us.

  Vaclav Klaus

  Country, Russia, Europe

  "'The Past Is the Past'". Interview with Christian Neef and Jan Puhl, Renata Hanusova, www.spiegel.de. March 13, 2006.

• The development of European integration can be divided into two phases. The first era ended with the Maastricht Treaty. It was a liberalization phase, with the main goal of European integration at the time being the removal of various barriers and borders in Europe. The second phase is a homogenization or standardization phase, one that involves regulation from the top and growing control over our lives. This no longer has anything to do with freedom and democracy.

  Vaclav Klaus

  Europe, Two, Goal

  "'The Past Is the Past'". Interview with Christian Neef and Jan Puhl, Renata Hanusova, www.spiegel.de. March 13, 2006.

• Common foreign policy is completely unnecessary. The various European countries have widely differing priorities, goals and prejudices. It would be wrong to force them all to follow the same course.

  Vaclav Klaus

  Country, Goal, Priorities

  "'The Past Is the Past'". Interview with Christian Neef and Jan Puhl, Renata Hanusova, www.spiegel.de. March 13, 2006.

• EU didn't advance our [Eastern Europe] democracy by a single millimeter.

  Vaclav Klaus

  Europe, Democracy, Eastern Europe

  "'The Past Is the Past'". Interview with Christian Neef and Jan Puhl, Renata Hanusova, www.spiegel.de. March 13, 2006.

• My main concern is the political dimension of European integration. This is one of the most important issues of all, as far as I'm concerned. It has to do with our past, with our sensitivity, perhaps even our hypersensitivity in this regard.

  Vaclav Klaus

  Past, Issues, Political

  "'The Past Is the Past'". Interview with Christian Neef and Jan Puhl, Renata Hanusova, www.spiegel.de. March 13, 2006.

• EU expansion is, unfortunately, continuing without a constitution, as a gradual process of standardization - and that's far more dangerous. It is very difficult to slow down this process, which is being pushed forward without significant public participation.

  Vaclav Klaus

  Expansion, Constitution, Significant

  "'The Past Is the Past'". Interview with Christian Neef and Jan Puhl, Renata Hanusova, www.spiegel.de. March 13, 2006.

• Czech Republic is an important part of central Europe. It's clear that we must participate in European integration. I am convinced that the Czech Republic - or, in the past, Czechoslovakia - would have been one of the founding members of the EU if it hadn't been for the communist takeover in 1948.

  Vaclav Klaus

  Past, Czech Republic, Europe

  "'The Past Is the Past'". Interview with Christian Neef and Jan Puhl, Renata Hanusova, www.spiegel.de. March 13, 2006.