A firm voice on Europe
Jan Fischer, former prime minister of the Czech Republic and the leading candidate in the country’s presidential campaign, in a Harvard talk on Thursday blamed the European financial crisis on nations thinking prosperity “may be bought on credit,” and said that Europe shouldn’t rush into closer financial and political ties in the search for a solution. “I perceive the current loud cheering for a European federation [to be]… an expression of helplessness,” he said. Were European nations to move toward union, such a plan would require full deliberation, Fischer said. He cited the diversity that still exists among nations — in areas such as national spending and welfare and pension systems — and strong national identity as evidence that Europeans aren’t ready to surrender national sovereignty to a stronger central government. Fischer made his comments during a talk at Harvard’s Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies (CES). The talk, “The Euro Crisis...