If you had typed today at 4 p.m. “Vaclav Klaus” in the Google news search engine, you would have found an article of the… “Taiwan News” at the top of your search results. The Asiatic newspaper picked up a new episode of the EU-Klaus soap opera.

Klaus Vaclav (source: Petr Novák, Wikipedia)

The daily reports that “the (European Parliament) lawmakers are demanding that EU leaders stand up to Czech President Vaclav Klaus over his refusal to sign the bloc’s reform treaty”.

For those who weren’t following the recent developments, the (latest) reason for not signing the treaty is Mr. Klaus’s fear that the Charter of Fundamental Rights will make it possible for the Sudenten Germans to… reoccupy a part of the Czech Republic. This is why the Czech president asked for a last-minute opt-out (already conceded to UK and Poland) from the charter.

This state of affairs apparently irritates the European Greens (who led the EP initiative) and most other parties in the European Parliament. Guy Verhofstadt, a Belgian liberal leader, reportedly said that there was no other option for Klaus but to sign.

I personally prefer Sarkozy’s view on the problem. The French president doesn’t deny his Czech counterpart the right to say no to Lisbon but he also makes it clear that “consequences” will follow in the case of refusal.

This attitude is more reasonable (it takes into account the alternative scenarios), more respectful (no ultimate obligation to sign) and also… more inspiring (imagine all the kinds of “consequences” the French president could have had in mind…).