Chirac aims for new European defence identity

WHENEVER he is asked about problems, President Chirac begins by saying he is optimistic. So what problems does he anticipate at the July NATO summit in Madrid?

After his customary profession of optimism, Mr Chirac admitted there was "a problem specific to France". Will it rejoin the integrated military structure or not? "If the reform of NATO allows Europe to define a European defence identity, France is inclined to join. But if on the contrary ...the Americans intend to keep complete control over NATO, France will remain in its present situation."

The "present situation" - of adhering to the NATO alliance without participating in the integrated command - has dragged on for 31 years. France has made its return conditional on more power for Europeans.

It was ironic that Mr Chirac mentioned his grievance with the US in Prague: he had come here to assure the Czechs of his support for NATO and EU enlargement. Maybe his hosts' pro-American policies irked him. But the French have not given up on enticing soon-to-be NATO members into their "European defence identity". An agreement for co-operation on weapons production and officer training was one of the accords signed by Mr Chirac during his two-day visit.

President Vaclav Havel invited Mr Chirac to address the Czech parliament and senate in Vladislav Hall, which has stood on a hill above Prague since 1029. Emperors and kings were crowned under its magnificent stone vaulted ceiling, and it was here that the Czech parliament elected Mr Havel in 1993.

"Here in Prague, more than elsewhere, this century was tragic," Mr Chirac told the assembly. France and Britain betrayed the Czechs in the 1938 Munich accords, he recalled. After German occupation, the country fell under Soviet domination for more than 40 years. The 1968 "Prague springtime" was crushed by a Soviet invasion just down the hill, in Venceslas Square, Jan Palack and Jan Zajic immolated themselves in protest.

Yet, in the past eight years the former Czechoslovakia has provided a rare happy ending. In 1989 the country shook off communist rule in a bloodless "velvet revolution". In 1993 Czechs and Slovaks decided to go their separate ways with a "velvet divorce". The mass privatisations carried out by the Czech Prime Minister, Mr Vaclav Klaus - often compared to Lady Thatcher - have given results that Mr Chirac must envy: at 3 per cent, the Czech Republic has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe, and the economy is growing at more than 5 per cent annually.

As if to counter Mr Klaus's renowned Euro-scepticism, Mr Chirac kept repeating throughout his visit that "Europe is not just a market". Above all, the Czechs want to join the EU and NATO to affirm that they belong in the West - Prague is west of Vienna, they are quick to remind you. Paris would like a little French civilisation to rub off along with all the McDonalds and Benetton shops which residents claim arc spoiling Prague's ethereal beauty.

Only 6 per cent of Czech secondary students study French - far behind English and German. The French believe "better late than never", so they are building a foundation to train future Czech Eurocrats - in French - for their stays in Brussels. And yesterday Mr Chirac picked up a trowel to cement a commemorative plaque for Prague's new French lycee.

Secret files from Francois Mitterrand's anti-terrorist unit showed the late president personally ordered widespread telephone-tapping now under investigation by magistrates, French media reported yesterday.