The Czech Republic, which takes over the European Union's presidency in January, warned on Monday against excessive economic regulation to fight financial crisis and recession.
In an interview with Reuters, Czech Deputy Prime Minister Alexandr Vondra also voiced confidence Prague would ratify the EU's Lisbon Treaty early next year, allowing it to take effect if Ireland reverses its rejection of the charter.
As the 27-nation EU's president in the first half of 2009, the Czech Republic has the task of steering the bloc through the worst financial crisis in decades and trying to revive its stalled institutional reforms.
"We have to be careful not to adopt more regulation than is needed, because in future we might regret it," said Vondra, whose right-wing government opposes significant state intervention in the economy.
The executive European Commission and some EU governments are considering measures to tighten financial market regulation, targeting credit rating agencies or hedge funds.
Vondra said the EU should focus on short-term stimulus to get stalled economies moving.
An EU summit on Thursday and Friday will examine a Commission proposal to boost the bloc's economies with a 200 billion euro ($257 billion) stimulus package, some 1.5 percent of the EU's economic output.
Vondra, whose country is outside the euro single currency zone, reiterated his general opposition to summits of leaders of the single currency area that would exclude other EU members.
"I don't think it is a way forward… Major economic decisions need to be made among the EU's 27 members," he said.
He said the monthly meetings of the 15-nation euro zone's finance ministers sufficed. However, he hinted he would welcome better communication with Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs meetings of the Eurogroup, as it is known.
"There are regular meetings of the Eurogroup, so we just have to build some kind of line of communication and collaboration between the presidency and the Eurogroup, between us and Jean-Claude Juncker."
Turning to the EU's Lisbon Treaty, he said the Czech parliament should ratify it in January and February after the constitutional court recently gave a legal go-ahead.
The ruling Czech ODS party, divided over the treaty, has made a deal with the pro-EU left-wing opposition, a Czech diplomat told Reuters.
The diplomat, who asked not to be identified, said the ODS had agreed to support the treaty if the opposition group's lawmakers backed stationing elements of a U.S. missile shield on Czech soil.
Vondra declined to give details, but suggested the opposition would have to back the shield if the Czech parliament was to ratify the treaty.
"Czech foreign policy lies on two pillars, the European and Atlantic pillars, and both must remain strong," he said.
