Focus on Czech leader after Irish EU vote

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-10-05 07:02

BRUSSELS: Czech President Vaclav Klaus faced growing pressure yesterday to ratify the European Union's Lisbon reform treaty after Ireland's overwhelming approval of the charter revived plans to give the EU more global influence.

Just over two-thirds of Irish voters backed the treaty on Friday in a referendum put to them a second time, marking a decisive turnaround that was widely attributed to the EU's role in helping Ireland through the global economic crisis.

But the treaty, which would streamline decision-making of the 27-country bloc and create a long-term president and a powerful foreign policy chief, takes effect only if Poland and the Czech Republic follow other member states in ratifying it.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski is expected to sign soon. But Czech President Vaclav Klaus, who sees the treaty as a step towards a European superstate where national states will lose sovereignty, has not made his intentions clear.

Politicians in Poland and the Czech Republic question the legality of changes enacted to get Ireland on board. After the 2008 Irish 'no', Dublin won guarantees the EU will not gut its traditional neutrality, abortion ban or tax powers.

And experts say that even if the treaty is passed by all member nations, EU governments may lack the political will to take full advantage of reforms such as freer trade, a highly contentious issue in Europe.

A successfully reformed European Union would have a president, a single foreign policy chief instead of two, less red tape and a European Parliament with more power over legislation. For the first time, the assembly gets a say in drafting the EU budget that totals some 120 billion euros a year.

European voters able to collect 1 million signatures will be able force the EU to draft new rules. And if a country is fed up with the EU, it can leave the club unilaterally.

In a further sign of pressure on Prague, the EU's Swedish presidency and Barroso will meet Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer in Brussels on Wednesday.

Klaus declined comment on Saturday but is likely to hold out at least until the Czech Constitutional Court rules in the next few weeks on a challenge to the treaty by a group of senators.

Waiting for Britain?

He could wait until a British election due by June, hoping it would bring to power the opposition Conservatives who have said they would hold a referendum on the treaty if it is not yet in force, even though Britain has ratified it.

Fischer says Klaus will sign the treaty by the end of the year. It has already been approved by the Czech parliament.

"The prime minister ... is convinced that ratification will be completed in a way that the Lisbon Treaty can take effect by the end of 2009," Fischer's office said in a statement.

In a reversal of Ireland's rejection of the treaty in June 2008, 67 percent of Irish voters backed the charter.

Irish debt yield spreads are expected to tighten by five-to-10 basis points on Monday and the euro currency could have a slight boost because prospects of the charter's introduction before the end of the year have now increased, economists said.

The Irish government had said a second rejection risked isolating Ireland while it relied on the goodwill of the European Central Bank and foreign investors to pull out of one of the worst recessions in Europe.

The treaty is designed to speed up decision-making in a bloc that represents 495 million people but risks losing influence in the world economy as power shifts towards China and other emerging powers after the global economic crisis.

The charter's implementation, after more than a year on hold following Ireland's rejection in 2008, is expected to boost prospects for further EU enlargement and deeper integration among member states.

"It is an important victory for Ireland and for all of Europe," Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said.