Home » Europe » Czech president signs the Lisbon Treaty

Czech president signs the Lisbon Treaty

Posted by EU Times on Nov 4th, 2009 // No Comment

The president of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus, has signed the EU’s Lisbon Treaty, the final step in the charter’s ratification.

Klaus’ decision to ratify the Treaty came after the Czech Republic’s constitutional court rejected a last minute legal challenge from a group of eurosceptic senators and ruled that the Lisbon Treaty does not violate the country’s constitution. This was seen as the removal of the final obstacle standing in the way of Klaus’s signature.

Klaus’s recalcitrance made the Czech Republic the last of the EU’s 27 member states to ratify the treaty, which will give the bloc a full-time president and a more powerful foreign policy chief which advocates insist will boost its standing on the world stage. Critics, on the other hand, say it will cede too many national powers to Brussels.

The treaty could now come into force as early as December.

Speaking in Washington ahead of an EU-US summit, the European Commission’s Portuguese president Jose Manuel Barroso welcomed the removal of the “last hurdle” to the treaty’s passage.

“I think that the transformational potential that is there, the new external profile for the European Union, will be felt immediately,” he said.

Source

Please wait...

Did you like this information? Then please consider making a donation or subscribing to our Newsletter.

« Previous

1921 New York Times article raises question over the 6 million number

Barcelona football supporters sentenced to 6 years in prison for racial slurs

Conversation Guidelines

Starting a conversation on our website is very easy, all you need to do is to write your name, email and the comment itself. No account is required to leave a comment. Your email won't be used for any purpose whatsoever, if you want, you can even write a fictitious email. Please keep it civil, try to refrain from slurs and insults. We offer Free Speech rights to our comment section but please take note that the comment section is moderated so certain comments may be held for moderation in case they triggered our automatic filters. If your comment is on hold for moderation and you can't see it anywhere there is no need to repost it. Don't worry, it doesn't mean it won't get approved. Please patiently wait and check back later.