Czech please?
June 24, 2009
Czech President Vaclav Klaus, whose signature is needed for the Czech Republic's approval of the Lisbon Treaty, has told Czech Radio that he has yet to make a final decision on whether to ratify the pact.
'Not the last Mohican'
"I will certainly not rush," said Klaus to the station. "I will certainly wait until after all those things about which I have talked about -which include a constitutional complaint by our senators - happen. The Irish have not voted again. Poland has not signed the Lisbon Treaty, and Germany has not signed the Lisbon Treaty. So I am not the last Mohican who is fighting against all," he said.
Klaus believes the treaty would wipe out the role of nation states and lead to an over-centralization of Europe.
In the Czech Republic, a group of senators who oppose the treaty have asked the top court to examine the treaty for a second time.
In Germany, the treaty is held up while it waits for a ruling by the nation's Constitutional Court. The ruling is expected on June 30.
Special accord with Ireland
The Irish rejected the Lisbon Treaty the last time it came up for a vote, but the global economic downturn has caused them to re-examine the pact. The EU has given legally binding guarantees to Ireland that will not force them to amend family and tax laws, nor give up their military neutrality.
The Lisbon Treaty is designed to boost the EU's global standing through reforming its institutions. The pact takes effect only after all 27 EU members ratify it.
av/dpa/AFP
Editor: Jennifer Abramsohn