The summit held within the Czech EU presidency dealt with climate change, which Klaus fervently denies is taking place, but the president told reporters the debate went "without (his) involvement."

"The discussion was at a level where I had no motivation to enter," said Klaus who took over the chairmanship from Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, whose cabinet was toppled in March to be replaced by a temporary team on May 8.

Klaus's decision to "get involved" in the presidency after the cabinet had fallen raised eyebrows across the EU, also because Klaus had once described the presidency as "unimportant" and himself as a "European dissident."

At Monday's summit, the EU and Japan decided to join forces in the fight with climate change and invited large countries to follow suit.

"This general level of the debate was quite acceptable for me even if I'm convinced that there is no global warming and there is almost no man-made global warming," said Klaus.

"We have a free society, there are different opinions," said European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso, stressing that "we are clear about the EU position."

In the past months, Klaus has been promoting his book on climate change called "Blue Planet, Green Shackles" as well as his frontal attack on the science of global warming all around the world.

"Environmentalism and the global-warming alarmism is challenging our freedom," he said in a speech at the last Davos summit in January.

Klaus has also likened environmentalists to the communists that ruled his country for 40 years and has branded the world's top panel of climate experts, the UN's IPCC, a smug monopoly.

The Czech government has announced Klaus will also be in charge of the EU summits with Russia on May 21-22 and South Korea on May 23.

The staunch opponent of the EU's reforming Lisbon Treaty may also chair the EU council meeting in June, which will deal with the treaty's text.

The Czech Republic is one of only three countries in the 27-nation bloc that have not ratified the treaty, along with Poland and Ireland.

Its senators gather for a long-delayed vote on Wednesday. Poland's president has delayed signing, while Ireland is due to put it to a second referendum by November.

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