To my surprise, the readers of The Empire Chronicles have voted former Prime Minister Tony Blair as their favourite candidate for the EU presidency, despite the fact that his chances to nail the post are slimmer than ever.
42 per cent of the respondents – 620 people – said that Blair would be the best candidate to become the European Union’s first President. Former Czech President Vaclav Havel came in second with 22% support – 329 …

Former Czech President Vaclav Havel said that his successor Vaclav Klaus’ refusal to sign the Lisbon Treaty is absurd, irresponsible and damaging to the country, The Times reports.
73-year-old Havel, the playwright who has saint-like status in the Czech Republic, used an event to mark the Velvet Revolution of 1989 to attack Klaus yesterday for holding out on the treaty, which has been ratified in the 26 other EU countries and awaits the signature of the …

A group of Europe’s influential political figures – among others former Polish President Lech Walesa, former Czech President Vaclav Havel and former Estonian Prime Minister Mart Laar – have written an open letter to US President Barack Obama, warning him of Russia’s increasing intimidation in the region and calling for the US to take a strong line.
Altogether 22 former leaders signed the letter that expressed deep concern over America’s declining interest in the part of …