The Czech Republic

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Czech Republic 324 Antoni Kaminski external demands that decisive measures must be ~=:L.k::.en, no gov- ernment has done much to remedy this situation.14 ............................................................ Whatever the role of particular interests in the P«=:»-:Iii.s;h eeonomic 12 policy process, the professional integrity of the econo~s-ts in eharge ............................................................ of budgetary and financial policie s has been high ea:::8L<:>l.:1ghto keep these out of the realm of partisan quarrels. This haa.==- been an im- portant factor in Poland's relative economic success. :==i:anilarly, the existence of a group of professionals with a strong icI~c>.ogical eom- The Czech Republic: The Unexpected mitment to self-government, and the support this fou:r=:aacI ~mong loeal Force OrInstitutional Constraints and regional elites, were decisive factors in stimul8L~::::i=J:.g the drive i~ toward the reform of the Polish state. The Europea-=--- Commission has supported this reform, by making it a condition:L "<ar aceession and by providing funds. International factors have oIII~ 8Contributed Milada Anna Vachudová to making this reform feasible. By far the most important factor has been the relSL"8::;iiwe openness The Czech Republic provides an interesting study in the way that of Poland to Western influence since 1956. Poles trBiL~.e::Jled abroad international institutions may shape democratic consolidation more than any other nation within the communist CBiL-=r1]IJ, and were and economic reform in states that wish to join them. In Eastern able to acquire knowledge, albeit limited, of how tD=:.~ West oper- Europe, since 1989, the prospect of membership in the European ated. Polish scholars and students studied at Wes~"'Il academic Union (EU) and in the North Atlantie Treaty organization (NATO) institutions. Millions of émigrés in the West mainta1--=-Ec:l close con- has provided a strong incentive to build liberal democratic states. tacts with their families in Poland. Polish society was ~l...atively well Governments will implement difficult domestic reforms and modify prepared for the ehange of regime. The fact that <:II.e:spite these their foreign policies in order to obtain the political, economic, and propitious circumstances this ta sk proved difficult ~:g-:hlights the security benefits of membership. Yet for this dynamic to work, can- complex nature of democratic transition under p<»==-t-communist didates must consider membership to be a realistic goal. They must conditions. believe that these institutions will expand, and that they can fulfil the requirements of membership. They must also believe that they 14 The Buzekgovernmentpromisedto take some steps in this dir, Lion. Theresults are unprepared as yet for membership, that work remains to be remain to be seen. Antoni Z. Kamióski, 'Corruption under the ~&>st-Communist done.1 The Czech case demonstrates how this process depends on Transformation: The Case of Poland', Polish Sociological Revie~ 2: 118 (1997). a certain tension between confidence in securing membership and fear of suffering rejection due to inadequate reformo An overabund- ance of assurance on the part of the Czech governments of Prime Minister Václav Klaus undermined the execution of comprehensive My thanks to Dagmar Ašerová, Matthew Evangelista, Rick Fawn, Timothy Garton Ash, Jirí Pehe, Alex Pravda, Matthew Rhodes, Marek Škréta, Timothy Snyder, Jonathan Stein, Stephen Whitefield, and Kieran Williams for comments on an earlier draft. This chapter also benefited from conversations with officials of the European Commission and of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including Jirí Havlík, Petr Lunák, Martin Palouš, and Pavel Telicka. The research was funded by a NATO-National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellowship, and supported by the Prague centre of the East-West Institute. 1 This argument draws on Milada Anna Vachudová, Revolution, Democracy and lntegration: East Central and South Eastern Europe since 1989 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, forthcoming), úL-I ;j:l6 Maada Anna Vachudova '.1'ne Gzec:n .Ht:jJUUH(; domestic rerorms and the design orrational roreign policy. The Com- a model and as a goal remained during this stage, but was neces- mission's 1997 'Opinion' on the Czech Republic's application alIuded sarily weakened by claims that the Czech Republic had already to this attitude in a single laconic sentence: 'Confident or its pro- become part or the West. Indeed, Klaus's Czech Republic became gress towards meeting the obligations or EU membership, the Czech so convinced or its virtues as the most advanced post-communist Republic has at times shown reluctance to acknowledge difficulties state with the most successful economy in Europe that basic reforms and seek a colIaborative approach to resolving them.'2 remained unfinished. The influence or international factors on the consolidation of Czech The conditions necessary for direct international infiuence on democracy since 1989 can be divided into four stages, correspond- the policy choices of the Czech government did not emerge until ing roughly to the changes of government. In the first, from 1989 the end of this second stage. For much of the 1990s, the criticisms to 1992, the Czechoslovak government was led by former dissidents and diplomatic initiatives ofWestern governments and international who sought to create a Western liberal democracy and return institutions were aimed at those post-communist governments who Czechoslovakia to Europe. The infiuence of the West, as a model violated democratic standards and whose use of ethnic nationalism and as a goal for the Czech political and economic transformation, threatened the rights of ethnic minorities and peaceful relations with was profound. Securing membership in the EU and NATO became neighbouring states. This was not the case in the Czech Republic. fundamental goals, and the perceived requirements ofmembership Nor was the Czech Republic, with its low levels ofdebt and good macro- shaped policy in the new state. This occurred welI before either the economic indicators, under pressure from the International Monetary EU or NATO had committed to eastern enlargement, much less set Fund (lMF) or the World Bank. Nevertheless, international cen- down specific requirements for membership. To the extent that the sure did eventualIy force the Czech government to change a 1993 West did set down explicit conditions, for example on the treatment citizenship law which, by design, disadvantaged Roma applicants. of ethnic minorities by the Council of Europe (COE) or on the Over the course of the second stage, the EU gradualIy developed liberalization of trade by the EU, these coincided with the liberal the tools to identify the problems plaguing democratic consolidation democratic agenda of the Czechoslovak government. Meanwhile.. in the Czech Republic. Mter taking the necessary step of commit- the speeches of Czechoslovak President Václav Havel during this ting itself to eastern enlargement in 1992, the EU's expectations period helped crystallize Western Europe's vague plans to integrate of the aspiring candidates became more concrete. It set out the gen- the post-communist east. eral political and economic requirements of membership in 1993, ln the second stage, which will be the chief concern of this chap- and the extensive regulatory requirements of the internal market ter, the centre-right coalition of Prime Minister Václav Klaus in 1995. In view of approaching negotiations, the European Com- governed the Czech Republic from June 1992 until November 1997. mission examined Czech political and economic reform to write its Although the independent Czech Republic perceived itself, and was Opinion on the Czech Republic's application, published in July 1997. generally perceived by others, as among the most pro-Western states This scrutiny revealed the reforms which had been neglected or in Eastern Europe, the reform project was surprisingly insulated unsuccessful, notably enterprise restructuring, bank privatization, from international infiuences. Klaus had his own strategy-a and public administration reformo personal mix of free market ideology and political pragmatism- As the Commission's Opinion was being written and the start of for creating a 'Western' state, fit for membership in the EU and negotiations drew near, economic downturn and political instabil- NATO. From 1993, Klaus and other Czech officials asserted that ity in the Czech Republic announced the third stage in summer the transition was complete, and that the damage to society under 1997. Mter the falI of the Klaus government in November 1997, communism had been reversed. Unti11997, supported by impress- an interim government led by Prime Minister Josef Tosovsky held ive macroeconomic indicators, they succeeded in projecting a very power until the early elections of June 1998. By force of necessity positive image of the Czech Republic. The infiuence of the West as but also of its political outlook, this government was more respons- ive to outside advice and more attentive to the conditionality inherent in the EU accession process. 2 'Commission Opinion on the Czech Republic's Application for Membership in the European Union', A. Introduction. Commission documents are all at The greatest international infiuence on the consolidation of europa.eu.int/comm/enlargement/. Czech democracy would arise from an abiding desire of the Czech L 328 Milada Anna Vachudová The Czech Republic 329 Republic to gain entry into the EU.
Recommended publications
  • The Luxembourgish EU Presidency and Financial Services – July-December 2015
    The Luxembourgish EU Presidency and Financial Services – July-December 2015 The Luxembourgish EU Presidency and Financial Services 1 July – 31 December 2015 Kreab Brussels 2 avenue de Tervueren, 1040 Brussels, Belgium www.kreab.com/brussels – @KreabEU 1 The Luxembourgish EU Presidency and Financial Services – July-December 2015 Contents Political Context of the Luxembourgish Presidency 3 Priorities of the Luxembourgish Presidency 4 Key Financial Services Initiatives and Legislative Dossiers 5 Organisation of the Luxembourgish Presidency 12 Annex I – Contact Information 13 Permanent Representation of Luxembourg to the European Union 13 Economy and Finance 14 Government of Luxembourg 16 Ministry of Finance of Luxembourg 17 Bank of Luxembourg 18 Financial Regulatory Body of Luxembourg 20 Annex II – CVs of Key Luxembourgish Ministers 21 Annex III – Provisional Calendar 23 Annex IV – Key Council Meetings 25 Annex V – Country Fact Sheet 26 Annex VI – The EU Presidency 28 2 The Luxembourgish EU Presidency and Financial Services – July-December 2015 Political Context of the Luxembourgish Presidency The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg will assume its twelfth Presidency of the Council of the European Union on 1 July 2015. Luxembourg is one of the smallest countries in the EU, but it is also the wealthiest per capita. Following Italy and Latvia, Luxembourg is the third in this Presidency Trio, and will be the second full Presidency to work with the new Commission headed by compatriot and former Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker. Luxembourg is the seat of several major institutions such as the European Court of Justice, the European Investment Bank, and the Court of Auditors. Attitude toward the EU Luxembourg is one of the six founding members of the European Union and has historically played a key role in its formation.
    [Show full text]
  • CESES FSV UK Praha 2006 Publisher: CESES FSV UK First Edition: 2006 Editor: Eva Abramuszkinová Pavlíková
    Authors: Martin Potůček (Head of the authors‘ team) Eva Abramuszkinová Pavlíková, Jana Barvíková, Marie Dohnalová, Zuzana Drhová, Vladimíra Dvořáková, Pavol Frič, Rochdi Goulli, Petr Just, Marcela Linková, Petr Mareš, Jiří Musil, Jana Reschová, Markéta Sedláčková, Tomáš Sirovátka, Jan Sokol, Jana Stachová, Jiří Šafr, Michaela Šmídová, Zdena Vajdová, Petr Vymětal CESES FSV UK Praha 2006 Publisher: CESES FSV UK First edition: 2006 Editor: Eva Abramuszkinová Pavlíková Graphic design and print: Studio atd. ISSN: 1801-1659 ( printed version) ISSN: 1801-1632 ( on-line version) 3 This paper has been inspired by and elaborated within the research project of the 6th EU Framework programme „Civil Society and New Forms of Governance in Europe – the Making of European Citizenship“ (CINEFOGO – Network of Excellence). Its aim is to gather evidence about the recent development of public discourse, and available literature on civil society, citi- zenship and civic participation in the Czech Republic in order to make it easily accessible to the national as well as international community. The authors’ team was composed according to the scientific interests and research experience of scholars from various Czech universities and other research establishments. It was a challenging task as the paper deals with a broad set of contested issues. The unintended positive effect of this joint effort was the improved awareness of research activities of other colleagues dealing with similar or related research questions. We hope that the paper will encourage both a further comprehensive research of the problem in the Czech Republic and comparative studies across the European Union countries. We are open to critical comments and further discussion about the content of the volume presented here.
    [Show full text]
  • Twenty Years After the Iron Curtain: the Czech Republic in Transition Zdeněk Janík March 25, 2010
    Twenty Years after the Iron Curtain: The Czech Republic in Transition Zdeněk Janík March 25, 2010 Assistant Professor at Masaryk University in the Czech Republic n November of last year, the Czech Republic commemorated the fall of the communist regime in I Czechoslovakia, which occurred twenty years prior.1 The twentieth anniversary invites thoughts, many times troubling, on how far the Czechs have advanced on their path from a totalitarian regime to a pluralistic democracy. This lecture summarizes and evaluates the process of democratization of the Czech Republic’s political institutions, its transition from a centrally planned economy to a free market economy, and the transformation of its civil society. Although the political and economic transitions have been largely accomplished, democratization of Czech civil society is a road yet to be successfully traveled. This lecture primarily focuses on why this transformation from a closed to a truly open and autonomous civil society unburdened with the communist past has failed, been incomplete, or faced numerous roadblocks. HISTORY The Czech Republic was formerly the Czechoslovak Republic. It was established in 1918 thanks to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson and his strong advocacy for the self-determination of new nations coming out of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after the World War I. Although Czechoslovakia was based on the concept of Czech nationhood, the new nation-state of fifteen-million people was actually multi- ethnic, consisting of people from the Czech lands (Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia), Slovakia, Subcarpathian Ruthenia (today’s Ukraine), and approximately three million ethnic Germans. Since especially the Sudeten Germans did not join Czechoslovakia by means of self-determination, the nation- state endorsed the policy of cultural pluralism, granting recognition to the various ethnicities present on its soil.
    [Show full text]
  • 2020-Activity-Report.Pdf
    — 2020 — WILFRIED MARTENS CENTRE FOR EUROPEAN STUDIES ACTIVITY REPORT © February 2021 - Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies 2020’s label will unfortunately be, above all, the year of Table of Contents the COVID-19 pandemic. It has marked the fates of many people, the way of life we used to enjoy, the way in which we communicated and worked, and in fact the entire world. On one hand, it has caused unprecedent fear for Welcome 04 human lives, but on the other hand it stimulated signifi- cant ones, such as the great effort to effectively coordi- nate the fight against the virus and the decision to create the Recovery Fund – Next Generation EU. However, we Publications 07 ended the year with the faith that the vaccines humanity European View 08 developed will save human lives and gradually get the Publications in 2020 10 situation under control, also eliminating the pandemic’s devastating impact on the economy. Another sad moment of 2020 for the EU was, of course, the UK’s official exit. It was a very painful process, but Events 13 largely chaotic on the British side. Even though we Events in 2020 14 parted “in an orderly fashion”, the consequences will be Economic Ideas Forum Brussels 2020 16 felt on both sides for years to come. 10th Transatlantic Think Tank Conference 20 Another unquestionably significant event of 2020 was the US presidential election. The pandemic, along with the events surrounding the US election, such as the Common Projects 23 attack on the Capitol, proved how fragile democracy NET@WORK 24 is, as are we.
    [Show full text]
  • José Manuel Barroso's Leadership of the European Commission
    A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Kassim, Hussein Working Paper A new model presidency: José Manuel Barroso's leadership of the European Commission WZB Discussion Paper, No. SP IV 2013-502 Provided in Cooperation with: WZB Berlin Social Science Center Suggested Citation: Kassim, Hussein (2013) : A new model presidency: José Manuel Barroso's leadership of the European Commission, WZB Discussion Paper, No. SP IV 2013-502, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (WZB), Berlin This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/103427 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle You are not to copy documents for public or commercial Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, If the documents have been made available under an Open gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort Content Licence
    [Show full text]
  • How Teachers Cope with Social and Educational Transformation
    How Teachers Cope with Social and Educational Transformation Struggling with Multicultural Education in the Czech Classroom Dana Moree EMAN 2008 How Teachers Cope with Social and Educational Transformation Struggling with Multicultural Education in the Czech Classroom Hoe docenten omgaan met sociale en educatieve veranderingen met een samenvatting in het Nederlands Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Universiteit voor Humanistiek te Utrecht op gezag van de Rector, prof. dr. Hans Alma ingevolge het besluit van het College van Hoogleraren in het openbaar te verdedigen op 24 november 2008 des voormiddags te 10.30 uur door Dana Moree Geboren op 20 November 1974 te Praag PROMOTORES: Prof.dr. Wiel Veugelers Universiteit voor Humanistiek Prof.dr. Jan Sokol Charles University Praag Co-promotor: Dr. Cees Klaassen Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen BEOORDELINGSCOMMISSIE: Prof. dr. Chris Gaine University of Chichester Prof.dr. Ivor Goodson University of Bristol Prof. dr. Douwe van Houten Universiteit voor Humanistiek Dr. Yvonne Leeman Universiteit van Amsterdam Dr. Petra Zhřívalová Charles University Praag This thesis was supported by the projects: The Anthropology of Communication and Human Adaptation (MSM 0021620843) and Czechkid – Multiculturalism in the Eyes of Children. for Peter, Frank and Sebastian EMAN, Husova 656, 256 01 Benešov http://eman.evangnet.cz Dana Moree HOW TEACHERS COPE WITH SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL TRANSFORMATION Struggling with Multicultural Education in the Czech Classroom First edition, Benešov 2008 © Dana Moree 2008 Typhography: Petr Kadlec Coverlayout: Hana Kolbe ISBN 978-80-86211-62-6 7 Contents Acknowledgements . 9 Introduction . 10 Chapter 1 – Transformation of the cultural composition of the Czech Republic . 15 Introduction .
    [Show full text]
  • Open Data and PSI in the Czech Republic
    Open data and PSI in the Czech Republic European Public Sector Information Platform Topic Report No. 2014 / 03 Open data and PSI in the Czech Republic Authors: Dušan Chlapek, Jan Kučera, Martin Nečaský, Michal Kubáň Published: March 2014 ePSIplatform Topic Report No. 2014 / 03 , March 2014 1 Open data and PSI in the Czech Republic Table of Contents 1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 5 2 OGD activities in the Czech Republic ..................................................................................... 6 1.1 Open Government Partnership in the Czech Republic .................................................. 7 1.2 OGD activities of the Czech government ...................................................................... 9 1.3 Open Data Forum .......................................................................................................... 9 1.4 OGD activities at the local and regional level .............................................................. 10 1.5 Activities of the NGOs ................................................................................................. 11 1.6 Notable research projects ........................................................................................... 11 1.6.1 LOD2 .................................................................................................................... 11 1.6.2 COMSODE ...........................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • THE JUNCKER COMMISSION: an Early Assessment
    THE JUNCKER COMMISSION: An Early Assessment John Peterson University of Edinburgh Paper prepared for the 14th Biennial Conference of the EU Studies Association, Boston, 5-7th February 2015 DRAFT: Not for citation without permission Comments welcome [email protected] Abstract This paper offers an early evaluation of the European Commission under the Presidency of Jean-Claude Juncker, following his contested appointment as the so-called Spitzencandidat of the centre-right after the 2014 European Parliament (EP) election. It confronts questions including: What will effect will the manner of Juncker’s appointment have on the perceived legitimacy of the Commission? Will Juncker claim that the strength his mandate gives him license to run a highly Presidential, centralised Commission along the lines of his predecessor, José Manuel Barroso? Will Juncker continue to seek a modest and supportive role for the Commission (as Barroso did), or will his Commission embrace more ambitious new projects or seek to re-energise old ones? What effect will British opposition to Juncker’s appointment have on the United Kingdom’s efforts to renegotiate its status in the EU? The paper draws on a round of interviews with senior Commission officials conducted in early 2015 to try to identify patterns of both continuity and change in the Commission. Its central aim is to assess the meaning of answers to the questions posed above both for the Commission and EU as a whole in the remainder of the decade. What follows is the proverbial ‘thought piece’: an analysis that seeks to provoke debate and pose the right questions about its subject, as opposed to one that offers many answers.
    [Show full text]
  • The Rise and Decline of the New Czech Right
    Blue Velvet: The Rise and Decline of the New Czech Right Manuscript of article for a special issue of the Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics on the Right in Post-Communist Central and Eastern Europe Abstract This article analyses the origins, development and comparative success centre-right in the Czech Republic. It focuses principally on the the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) of Václav Klaus, but also discusses a number of smaller Christian Democratic, liberal and anti-communist groupings, insofar as they sought to provide right-wing alternatives to Klaus’s party. In comparative terms, the article suggests, the Czech centre-right represents an intermediate case between those of Hungary and Poland. Although Klaus’s ODS has always been a large, stable and well institutionalised party, avoiding the fragmentation and instability of the Polish right, the Czech centre- right has not achieved the degree of ideological and organisational concentration seen in Hungary. After discussing the evolution and success of Czech centre-right parties between 1991 and 2002, the article reviews a number of factors commonly used to explain party (system) formation in the region in relation to the Czech centre- right. These include both structural-historical explanations and ‘political’ factors such as macro-institutional design, strategies of party formation in the immediate post-transition period, ideological construction and charismatic leadership. The article argues that both the early success and subsequent decline of the Czech right were rooted in a single set of circumstances: 1) the early institutionalisation of ODS as dominant party of the mainstream right and 2) the right’s immediate and successful taking up of the mantel of market reform and technocratic modernisation.
    [Show full text]
  • Crols, Dirk (2006) from Tsarist Empire to League of Nations and from USSR to EU: Two Eras in the Construction of Baltic State Sovereignty
    Crols, Dirk (2006) From Tsarist empire to League of Nations and from USSR to EU: two eras in the construction of Baltic state sovereignty. PhD thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/2453/ Copyright and moral rights for this thesis are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Glasgow Theses Service http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] FROM TSARIST EMPIRE TO LEAGUE OF NATIONS AND FROM USSR TO EU: TWO ERAS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF BALTIC STATE SOVEREIGNTY Thesis submitted by Dirk Crols to obtain the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Date of submission: 23 July 2006 Department of Central and East European Studies, University of Glasgow Supervisor: Dr. David Smith, Senior Lecturer, Department of Central and East European Studies, University of Glasgow. 1 ABSTRACT This thesis examines how the three Baltic countries constructed their internal and external sovereign statehood in the interwar period and the post Cold War era. Twice in one century, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were namely confronted with strongly divided multiethnic societies, requiring a bold and wide-ranging ethnic policy. In 1918 all three Baltic countries promised their minorities cultural autonomy.
    [Show full text]
  • Wilfried Martens
    Wilfried Martens „WITHOUT THE CDU THE EPP WOULD NOT BE WHAT THE PARTY IS TODAy” Wilfried Martens, geboren am 19. April 1936 im belgischen Sleidinge, Studium der Rechtswissenschaften an der Katholischen Universität Leuven, 1960 Promotion zum Dr. jur., Mitglied und später Präsident der Katholiek Vlaams Hoogstudenten Verbond, 1960–1965 praktizierender Rechtsanwalt, 1965 Berater des belgischen Premierministers Pierre Harmel,552 1966 Berater von Premierminister Paul Vanden Boeynants,553 1968 Sonderbeauftragter für Gemeinschaftsangelegenheiten unter Premierminister Leo Tindemans, 1974–1991 Mitglied der belgischen Abgeordnetenkammer, 1979–1981 und 1981–1992 Premierminister Belgiens, seit 1990 Präsident der EVP, 1991–1994 Senator, 1993–1996 Präsident der EUCD, 1994–1999 Mitglied des EP, Faktionsvorsitzender der EVP. Das Interview fand am 31. Mai 2012 in Brüssel statt und wurde geführt von Marcus Gonschor und Hinnerk Meyer. Mr President, you were born in Sleidinge in 1936. Could you please tell us something about your origins, your parental home and your time in school? I was born on a very small farm in the outskirts of the local community or local commune in Sleidinge. I was born in 1936. I remember the beginning of the war in 1940. I was on a bicycle with a young girl trans- 552 | Pierre Harmel (1911–2009), belgischer Politiker der PSC, 1965/66 Premierminister, 1966–1972 Außenminister seines Landes. 553 | Paul Vanden Boeynants (1919–2001), belgischer Politiker der PSC, 1966–1968 und 1978/79 Premierminister seines Landes. 622 porting me to the kindergarten. She said to me: ”Look in the sky! There are planes.” That was the beginning of the war. I have this memory still vivid.
    [Show full text]
  • Annual Report Masaryk University in Brn0 2001
    MASARYK UNIVERSITY IN BRNO ANNUAL REPORT MASARYK UNIVERSITY IN BRN0 2001 Czech Republic, January 2002 1 ©Masaryk University, Brno, 2002 ISBN ISSN 2 CONTENT RECTOR'S OFFICE OF MASARYK UNIVERSITY............................................................................... 7 BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF MASARYK UNIVERSITY ...................................................................... 8 ACADEMIC COUNCIL OF MASARYK UNIVERSITY.......................................................................... 9 ACADEMIC SENATE OF MASARYK UNIVERSITY........................................................................... 11 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.................................................................................................... 12 ORIENTATION OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ................................................................... 24 AT MASARYK UNIVERSITY................................................................................................................ 24 ACTIVITY ASSESSMENT .................................................................................................................... 31 EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES ............................................................................................................. 32 OFFICE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES ....................................................................................... 47 UNESCO CHAIR OF MUSEOLOGY AND WORLD HERITAGE....................................................... 50 STUDENT SERVICES, PUBLISHING ACTIVITIES ..........................................................................
    [Show full text]