Some moments during the European Parliament plenary sessions are exciting and you appreciate being there to hear them. The mini-plenary speech by the Czech President Vaclav Klaus was always going to be controversial. His views and dislike of the European Union are well known and recorded. For those of us who had not heard him speak before it was interesting. He started off on a positive note about the EU, speaking mildly and calmly, and using speaking cards. Then his speech shifted gear when he questioned whether the deputies democratically elected to serve in the European Parliament were actually accountable. He rejected calls for more power for the European Parliament. He drew on comparisons with his experience of living under communist dictatorship, and asserted that, if we were not careful, we could relive this in Europe, inferring that the EU was akin to a dictatorship.

Many MEPs walked out in disgust, while those with eurosceptic leanings cheered on with glee. President Klaus seemed to enjoy annoying those who disagreed with him. However, his words on the current financial crisis caused the greatest concern to those who stayed in the chamber. There was no mention of the 25 million European citizens who may be facing unemployment by the beginning of 2010, seven million more people than are currently unemployed. He emphasised his belief in the free market and his whole-hearted support for liberalisation and de-regulation. He offered no solution to the current financial crisis and no help to those facing financial hardship caused by the very de-regulation which has created the crisis in the banking sector across the EU in the first place. The only people who gave President Klaus a standing ovation were extremists, eurosceptics and several British Conservatives.

In responding, the President of the Parliament, Hans Gert Pöttering, stole the show. He told the Parliament and to the Czech President that in the past the Czech President would not have been able to give this speech, which was itself 'an expression of the diversity in Europe', and that European democracy offers us all a voice. He said that within the European family we may have different views but that sometimes member states need to ask themselves if certain decisions are best taken at a European or regional level than at a member state level. He concluded with a robust defence of the Parliament and its powers. He won a standing ovation from the vast majority of the house and really should be commended for his handling of the situation.