State-building and the EU Membership: Is it a compatible project?

English Pages, 5. 10. 2018

It is a real pleasure to be here in Montenegro, in the very beautiful region of Tivat and Kotor. Let me use this opportunity to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to all of you, and especially to Boris Mints, for bringing me here (as well as to many other beautiful places). I was here only once before, on a formal state visit, which lasted just a few hours. 

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The Fate of Central Europe: From Communism to the European Union

English Pages, 27. 9. 2018

Many thanks for inviting me to the Fordham University and for giving me a chance to speak here. I feel honoured indeed. I haven´t made a speech in New York City for several years, last time – if I am not wrong – as President of the Czech Republic when speaking at the General Assembly of the United Nations.

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Václav Klaus in Washington: Europe Needs to Be Liberated Again

English Pages, 26. 9. 2018

Many thanks for organizing this conference, for bringing us here and for giving me a chance to address this distinguished audience. I find the topic of the conference highly important and relevant both for Europe and America. Ronald Reagan and John Paul II did change the world and significantly influenced Europe and, as a result of it, the lives of people like myself, of people from the former communist Central and Eastern Europe.

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What Bothers an Ex-politician in the Era of Liberal Democracy?

English Pages, 20. 8. 2018

Many thanks for bringing me back to Erice, to this unique, beautiful, unforgettable place. Many of us are already Erice fans, if not addicts. For me this is already the third visit.

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The 2018 Athens Seminar – Are There Indications of a Good Future?

English Pages, 23. 6. 2018

Many thanks for the invitation to this important, interesting and stimulating gathering. The Athens Seminar has become a part of my life. It is great to repeatedly meet old friends and to get a chance to find new ones. In the era of highly glorified social networks one can have, surprisingly, the feeling that he is more and more alone. Many thanks for bringing me here.

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A few unsystematic comments on the contemporary geopolitical situation

English Pages, 24. 5. 2018

Introduction

Many thanks for the invitation. Nevertheless, I am not sure I am the right person to speak at the panel called “Geopolitical challenges”. I know and I do not hesitate to admit openly that my comparative advantage isn´t in the field of geopolitics.

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Notes for Peter Bauer's Speech in Budapest

English Pages, 27. 3. 2018

Many thanks for the invitation. I take it as a great idea to organize this conference. Peter Bauer deserves it. The whole today´s debate proves it. My task is, however, difficult. I hope you don´t expect from the last speaker to come with anything new and interesting. Everything has already been said. I can offer, perhaps, a slightly different perspective of a former politician and a former economist. 

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How to Make a Change in Latin America? A few tentative remarks

English Pages, 18. 3. 2018

It is enormous pleasure and honour for me to be with all of you here this evening. Many thanks for bringing me to Guatemala and for giving me the extraordinary opportunity to address this very important gathering and such a distinguished international audience.

Let me start with mentioning that this is already my second visit to Guatemala. My first visit here was very brief, only one day and night.

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Environment, Liberty and Global Warming Alarmism

English Pages, 14. 3. 2018

Ladies and gentlemen,

many thanks for the invitation and for the organization of this gathering. It is great to be in Guatemala after so many years and to see the visible changes.

As regards the topic of this evening, it is interesting to see your country as it looks like in the era of the so called destructive, human beings endangering global warming.

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Is Our Membership in the EU a Real Blessing?

English Pages, 21. 2. 2018

Many thanks for the invitation and for offering me the unique opportunity to present my views at your university. I feel really honoured by it. Hungary is geographically not far-away from the Czech Republic, Budapest is not far-away from Prague, I am speaking permanently all over the world, but I have never made a speech at the Corvinus University. I have to add – probably. I am not sure about it. I have a feeling that I delivered a lecture at the Karl Marx University of Economic Sciences, your predecessor, more than two decades ago but I was not able to find a proof of it. It was in the pre-internet era.

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