"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."

12 likes

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

About the author

Vaclav Klaus

Politician, Economist

Vaclav Klaus is a Czech economist and politician known for his advocacy of free markets and individual freedom, particularly through his role as former President of the Czech Republic.

All quotes by Vaclav Klaus →

Same author

More quotes by Vaclav Klaus

See all →
Vaclav Klaus Politician, Economist

"As someone who lived under communism for most of my life I feel obliged to say that the biggest threat to freedom, democracy, the market economy and prosperity at the beginning of the 21st century is not communism or its various softer variants. Communism was replaced by the threat of ambitious environmentalism."

Read quote
Vaclav Klaus Politician, Economist

"Global warming is a false myth and every serious person and scientist says so. It is not fair to refer to the U.N. panel. IPCC is not a scientific institution: it’s a political body, a sort of non-government organization of green flavor. It’s neither a forum of neutral scientists nor a balanced group of scientists. These people are politicized scientists who arrive there with a one-sided opinion and a one-sided assignment."

Read quote
Vaclav Klaus Politician, Economist

"This is crossing the Rubicon, after which there will be no more sovereign states in Europe with fully-fledged governments and parliaments which represent legitimate interests of their citizens, but only one State will remain. Basic things will be decided by a remote 'federal government' in Brussels and, for example, Czech citizens will be only a tiny particle whose voice and influence will be almost zero. ... We are against a European superstate."

Read quote