PRAGUE • French President Nicolas Sarkozy wants to "tunnel" the Czech Republic's EU presidency, his Czech counterpart Vaclav Klaus said yesterday, using a term for illegal asset stripping coined when he was prime minister in the 1990s.

Speaking in a television debate, the eurosceptic Klaus referred to speculation that France might seek to extend the presidency it currently holds and not allow the Czechs to take over on January 1, as the world financial crisis continues.

"I believe that if this government is in charge of the presidency, it will have a more rational opinion on the financial crisis than most other European countries," said Klaus who had called Sarkozy's steps in the crisis "old socialism" earlier this week. He added the presidency was not crucial for citizens, and that it was only important if a large country held it.

"Mrs Merkel showed it last spring, Mr Sarkozy is showing it now, but you know well that nobody noticed that Slovenia had the presidency in the first half of the year because the country doesn't have the political strength to influence anything. I think the Czech situation will be similar."

Klaus said Europe was controlled by four large countries - France, Britain, Germany, and Italy. He also pointed out these countries wrote the Munich agreement which handed the former Czechoslovakia over to Adolf Hitler's Germany in 1938.