Brush Up Your English (Slovníček) |
The Czech Republic has emerged as a key opponent of the German EU presidency's plan to revive the European constitution, with its newly appointed negotiator Jan Zahradil telling EU observer that Prague seeks to curb EU powers and re-open core parts of the charter. Mr Zahradil, who was recently picked as the personal negotiator on the constitution of the Czech centre-right prime minister Mirek Topolanek, said that "a new text is necessary" after French and Dutch voters in 2005 "vetoed" the EU constitution.
to face – čelit head-on – čelní clash – srážka to emerge – objevit se key – klíčový to revive – oživit constitution – ústava to appoint – jmenovat, ustanovit to seek – usilovat, hledat to curb – omezit core – základní, klíčový, hlavní charter – smlouva, charta recently – v poslední době negotiator – vyjednavatel necessary – nutný voter – volič
to veto – vetovat.
The Czech PM's appointee - who also serves as a centre-right member of the European Parliament - is known as an opponent of far-reaching EU integration, promoting an alternative "Europe of Democracies" as the constitution was being drafted in 2003.
"I am here to find a constructive outcome but at the same time I am not ready to agree to everything that the German presidency is proposing", Mr Zahradil stated, referring to German chancellor Angela Merkel's efforts to salvage the bulk of the constitution.
appointee – pověřenec to serve – sloužit far-reaching –dalekosáhlý, rozsáhlý to promote – podporovat to draft – navrhovat to find – nalézt outcome – východisko to agree – souhlasit to propose – navrhovat to state – prohlásit to refer to – odvolávat se na, odkazovat na effort – snaha to salvage – zachránit bulk of – množství, objem.
"That would not be any good, not for my country, nor for the EU. What is now desirable is critical reflection on the current state of the EU". All EU leaders were asked by Berlin to appoint so-called "sherpas" - appointees for confidential talks on the constitution - with Mr Zahradil so far being the only sherpa combining his job with that of an MEP. The Czech sherpa directly challenged calls by Berlin to preserve the "substance" of the existing text - meaning the constitution's key institutional reforms and the inclusion into the text of the EU's charter of fundamental rights.
any good – nic dobrého desirable – žádoucí current – současný to appoint – ustanovit so-called – tzv. appointee – pověřenec
confidential – tajný, důvěrný so far – doposud MEP –europoslanec directly – přímo to challenge – vyzvat, odmítnout, to preserve – zachovat substance – podstata to mean – znamenat inclusion – včlenění, zahrnutí charter of fundamental rights – listina základních práv a svobod.
Připravuje Markéta Frýbová