By Martin Banks - 4th November 2009
He pushed us to the very limit
Hans-Gert Pöttering
Parliament's former president says Czech president Václav Klaus took the EU "to the very limits" in his demands over the Lisbon treaty.
Hans-Gert Pöttering told this website Klaus' assertion that the Czechs should be allowed concessions were on the very edge "of what we could accept."
Klaus finally and reluctantly signed the treaty on Tuesday after holding out for months.
A staunch eurosceptic, he had demanded a Czech opt-out from the charter of fundamental rights, a tactic that eventually paid off.
Pöttering likened his demands to the concerns expressed by Dublin after the Irish rejected the treaty in a referendum last year.
Ireland ratified the document in a second poll earlier this year.
"The EU listened to Klaus and tried its best to satisfy his demands. It was right to do so but there is no doubt that he pushed the EU."
Pöttering,who was president for two-and-a-half years until June, added, "Some may suggest the EU went too far to placate Klaus but, let us remember that this is a treaty some of us have been fighting nine years for."
The German centre right deputy also backed UK foreign minister David Miliband for the post of high representative, which will be created by the Lisbon treaty.
The young minister is seen as a frontrunner for the job even though he has said he is not interested.
Pöttering, who was elected in 1979, was speaking after receiving a Parliament Magazine award for his contribution to parliamentary life over the years.
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