Post Your Questions for Petr Nečas

Czech Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Petr Nečas will answer your questions in Czech and English chat after the Informal Meeting of Ministers for Employment and Social Affairs, on Monday 26 January at 17:00. At the informal meeting, ministers of the EU member states discussed the mobility of workers and the Working Time Directive.

After the chat is closed, the most interesting questions and answers from both language versions will be published in the ’News and Documents’ section on www.eu2009.cz . The chat is conducted simultaneously in two language versions – in Czech for the local public and in English for readers abroad. Czech and English questions appear only in their respective language versions. To read all the questions answered by Minister Petr Nečas, open both chat versions.

Questions and Answers

Roberto Bargeron, 26. 1. 2009, 16:48
Dear Mr. Minister, I have two questions for you: 1) Did you discuss the Entropa sculpture with your EU colleagues? Do you like it yourself? 2) What steps would you take if you were Barack Obama's Minister for Social Affairs? How would you help him out of the present economic crisis the USA? Thank you.

responded to, 26. 1. 2009, 17:57
I did not speak about Entropa with my EU colleagues. I am not a defender of it. From the arts point of view, this is not my cup of tea. As regards my advice to Barack Obama as his minister responsible for social affairs, I would say to him that the slogan "Yes, we can" would not be enough. Fortunately, I am not a minister in the US Government, so Barack Obama will be spared of my advice:-) I would like to thank all for their questions. It was my pleasure to respond to them and I am grateful for this interesting discussion.

Krysztof, 26. 1. 2009, 15:10
Hello. What did you say to the representatives of Germany and Austria to convince them to open their labour markets? And why they refuse to open their labour markets?

responded to, 26. 1. 2009, 17:52
Their reasons are genuinely political. They have no material arguments with the exception of reasons of psychological nature or election campaign reasons. 13,000 Czechs working in Germany and 5,000 Czechs working in Austria do not represent any threat to their labour markets. From the point of view of pure facts the position of Germany and Austria could not be defended. As the presiding country we will go on negotiating; we cannot perceive this problem in an egoistic manner. We have to bear in mind our Romanian and Bulgarian partners towards whom as many as 10 Member States apply transitional periods.

Lukas Holz, 26. 1. 2009, 14:37
With the horrible effects of the economic crisis hanging over Europe, what do you personally see as the best way to fight its impact on European people? Do you think states should give money out to people to stimulate their spending?

responded to, 26. 1. 2009, 17:44
I can see a way rather in decreasing taxes and costs of labour, in a greater flexibility of labour markets, and in the effort not to break down public finance by further and further subsidies. The greatest misfortune would be if the results of the existing crisis were the breakdown of public budgets and a return to protectionism.

Maikki H., 26. 1. 2009, 12:56
Hello. What steps does the EU prepare to increase the natality rate of Europeans? I am not afraid of immigration, but I think that as regards reproduction Europe should not rely on immigrants only.

responded to, 26. 1. 2009, 17:40
I do not think that it is the task of the EU to influence the natality rate. I even do not think that it is a task of the individual Member States or of the state as such. The decision to have children and the decision concerning their number is intrinsically the decision of individual people and their families. It is their private decision. The public power at the level of the individual national states should only create conditions for the real freedom of choice so that everyone could decide freely how many children they will have, if they will remain at home with them or go out to work, or combine both. The freedom of choice is the only possible approach of a democratic state. To support natality from Brussels offices is really not a good idea.

Paul, 26. 1. 2009, 11:33
Dear Mr Minister, if I remember correctly, France has a 35-hour workweek. The EU is trying to introduce a max. 48-hour workweek. I find this difference staggering. Are the differences among member states really so big? Don't some states (France) press for shorter workweeks? I can't see how the EU's social policy can work with such huge differences. I've heard that you can have as many as 8 weeks of paid vacation in France, but in other European countries you are lucky to get 3 or 4. Does the EU plan some sort of unification in this respect too? And looking at it from yet another point of view: Aren't these socialistic elements one of the reasons why Europe's economy and industry have been on a decline for some time?

responded to, 26. 1. 2009, 17:34
It is also France that leaves the idea of the 35-hour workweek. On the basis of the existing working-time directive, it is possible, if both the employer and the employee voluntarily agree, to work as many as 78 hours per week. This opt-out is used by 15 out of 27 Member States of the EU. I am personally convinced that provided contractual freedom is guaranteed, noone should be prevented from working more and earning more. Unfortunately, a part of the European public and also a part of the European political elite believe that the substance of the European social model consists in working less and less and having an increasingly better standard of living. This social and economic "perpetuum mobile" cannot work.

Valerie, 26. 1. 2009, 11:20
Are there any thoughts in the EU as to specifying a binding European period of maternity leave? Or will this issue remain in the hands of the member states?

responded to, 26. 1. 2009, 17:26
The minimum duration of the maternity leave is specified but I am convinced that these matters should rather remain in the hands of the Member States because there are different cultural and social traditions of individual Member States and there are also different methods of financing the maternity leave. The attempt to make everyone wear the same size of shoes is not a good idea in my opinion.

P. Hoghers, 26. 1. 2009, 10:52
Dear Mr Necas, as a representative of the European presidency but also of the "eurosceptic" ODS party, are you personally in favour of the Lisbon Treaty? Should Czech people be afraid of it? If yes, why? Will you vote in favour or against the Treaty in your Parliament?

responded to, 26. 1. 2009, 17:22
ODS is not a eurosceptic party because it has always been in favour of the Czech membership of the EU. I consider the Lisbon Treaty as a compromise that can be reached with difficulty. I can also imagine the functioning of the EU without the Lisbon Treaty. Every month, every week, every day of the existing functioning of the EU in compliance with the Nice Treaty rules shows that the Lisbon Treaty is not an inevitable necessity. As member of the Government I voted in favour of the Lisbon Treaty. I respect the international obligations of the Czech Government and as a member of the Czech Parliament I will support it. But do not ask me to praise this Treaty.

James Gomez, 26. 1. 2009, 9:38
Will the threat of soaring unemployment in Ukraine as a result of the deep recession raise concern in the EU about immigration and illegal workers coming that country? This is a question about how the EU presidency stands in regard that problem.

responded to, 26. 1. 2009, 17:12
We are interested in having stable and economically prosperous Ukraine. Ukrainian workers undoubtedly contribute to the economic growth in the Czech Republic and we do not regard them as a threat.