CHILE / CZECH REPUBLIC: Prez.Klaus Gifts Himself With Pen...And Delights YouTube/ Facebook.

GUARDIAN/

    On a recent visit to Chile, crusty euroskeptic Czech President Vaclav Klaus, 69, adeptly spirited away a pen covered with semi-precious stones...during a press conference...with a nifty slight of hand...that is now popular viewing on YouTube and Facebook...and ridiculed in Prague.
     Seated next to Chile's President Pinera, Klaus (pictured above left) is seen taking a pen out of a box, examining it carefully, then hiding his hands under the table, rearranges his jacket, buttoning it up with both hands and ending with empty hands above the table again.
      The video has had more than 550,000 views so far.
FOR VIDEO: In Czech: 1:04
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrAqoT4l-3A  

CZECH REPUBLIC: Peter Necas Named New Prime Minister.

BBC/      President Vaclav Klaus appointed Peter Necas, leader of the center right Civic Democrat party, as prime minister. The Czech Republic has been in political limbo for more than a year. Necas, 45, was the former social affairs minister.

CZECH REPUBLIC/HUNGARY/SLOVAKIA: Klaus Backs Slovakia In Hungarian Dispute.

PRAGUE DAILY MONITOR/ BBC /      President Vaclav Klaus has given his support to Slovakia after a new Hungarian law allowing the granting of Hungarian citizenship to Hungarians living abroad was passed. A senior Czech diplomat has said the tension in the Hungarian-Slovak relations was a moment that might "stir up" the atmosphere in Central Europe. Also, the BBC reports that Slovakia has voted to amend its own citizenship law, stripping anyone of their Slovak citizenship if they apply for a second nationality. Southern Slovakia is home to roughly 500,000 ethnic Hungarians, about a tenth of the country's population.

EU: Czech's Klaus Finally Signs Lisbon Treaty.

NYTimes/
Vaclav Klaus, the president of the Czech Republic, finally signed the Lisbon Treaty after the country’s Constitutional Court ruled that it was compatible with the Czech Constitution. Klaus was the last EU leader to approve the treaty that needed ratification by all 27 member states.
After his signing, the euroskeptic Klaus said “I cannot agree with its contents because once the Lisbon Treaty will come into effect, the Czech Republic will cease to be a sovereign state.”

The Euroskeptic Prime Minister Who Loves Blonde Stewardesses.

TIMES ONLINE/ Longish profile/
The Czech Republic's Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus is a 68-year-old married euroskeptic who holds the future of the EU in his hands but last year he was caught in the company of a pretty flight attendant. She was his third.
But most Czechs seemed to approve. “A mistress is generally considered a sign of a real man,” pronounced Dnes (Today), the nation’s biggest newspaper. “Czechs have just shrugged their liberal shoulders,” said Lidove Noviny, the populist daily.
Klaus is lapping up attention as statesmen plead for his signature on the Lisbon Treaty. “His narcissistic personality loves being at the centre of attention and power,” a Czech politician told The Times last week, “and Czechs have a tendency to admire him because of their own lack of self-confidence.”

Contrarian Euro-skeptic Czech Vaclav Klaus Threatens EU Crisis.

AP VIA GOOGLE NEWS/
The Czech Republic's president, Euro-skeptic Vaclav Klaus, has continuously attacked the Lisbon Treaty. Now Klaus can block it even though he is only a ceremonial head of state — like the Queen of England. Because the Czech Parliament has ratified it, he is legally bound to sign the document. Yet he seems prepared to stall for as long as he can even if polls show that most Czechs want him to sign.
The ultra-conservative Klaus also doubts that humanity is causing global warming and strongly opposes gay marriage.

Poland's President Signs EU Treaty.

BLOOMBERG/
Poland's President Lech Kaczynski, a noted Eurosceptic, signed the Lisbon treaty. Kaczynski said in a speech just before the signing he was "deeply convinced" that the "great experiment" of the treaty would be successful.

Czech "Eurosceptic" Klaus Demands New Lisbon Treaty Footnote Before Signing.

BBC/
The Czech Republic's President Vaclav Klaus has refused to sign the Lisbon treaty until the Czech Constitutional Court rules on a new legal complaint against it, lodged by senators allied to him.
Now, the Swedes say that Klaus also wants a new footnote penned by him to be adopted by the European Council. "I told him this is the wrong message at the wrong time for the EU. I told him clearly it is his ink on the paper that counts and I don't want this to delay the treaty going through as soon as possible,"said a Swedish representative.

Irish "Yes" Vote On EU Pressures Lone Eurosceptic,Czech Vaclav Klaus.

BLOOMBERG/
Ireland’s approval of the European Union’s planned governing treaty adds pressure on anti-EU Czech President Vaclav Klaus to give up his one-man campaign against a new-look Europe.
Klaus, 68, is blocking Czech ratification of the treaty, which would create the posts of full-time EU president and foreign minister with the goal of boosting the 27-nation bloc’s global clout.
Klaus was on Czech television yesterday calling the Irish vote “wrong” and said he “will wait for the decision of the constitutional court.”

New Czech Move To Block EU Treaty.

BBC/
Czech senators opposed to the EU's Lisbon Treaty have filed a new complaint against it with the country's constitutional court.
The complaint could create a new delay to treaty ratification, even if Irish voters back the treaty in a referendum on Friday.
Czech President Vaclav Klaus, a eurosceptic, says he will not sign the treaty until the court decides.
The treaty cannot take effect unless all 27 EU member states back it.

Czech Court Cancels Election.

BLOOMBERG.COM.
The Czech Constitutional Court invalidated President Vaclav Klaus’s call for a parliamentary ballot on Oct. 9-10, deepening the political turmoil over holding early elections and risking a budget crisis.
The political crisis would leave the country with a provisional 2010 budget without necessary spending cuts.

Profile of EU Skeptic, Czech Leader Vaclav Klaus.

from The NYTimes.

Vaclav Klaus is a contrarian agitator who heads one of Eastern Europe’s wealthiest democracies but doesn't agree on many things with the European Union... or even that Europe should have a strong union.

Poles and Czechs Stall Signing EU's Lisbon Treaty.

From The Economist.

The presidents of Poland and the Czech Republic are reluctant to sign the European Union's Lisbon Treaty though their parliaments have ratified it.

Why?

The Economist describes both men as "prickly nit-pickers," and lists other reasons why the two have put-off the signings.