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Czech Republic senate ratifies EU reform Treaty

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic voted Wednesday to approve the European Union (EU) reform treaty, also known as the Lisbon Treaty, sending the document to Czech President Vaclav Klaus for ratification. If the treaty is ratified, Ireland will be the only remaining EU country not to have ratified it. Klaus has indicated that he will not approve the ratification, saying that the Czech senators "turned their back on the long-term interests of the Czech Republic." Klaus also said that he would wait to sign the Senate approval until after the country's Constitutional Court rules on the treaty and the results are known from the second round of an Irish referendum on ratification of the Lisbon Treaty. In March, the resignation of then-prime minister Mirek Topolanek cast doubt on the future of Lisbon Treaty ratification in the Czech Republic. The Czech Republic's Chamber of Deputies, or lower house of parliament, in February approved the Lisbon Treaty. Beyond challenges in the Czech Republic, the treaty still must pass a referendum in Ireland where voters had earlier rejected the treaty in a June 2008 referendum, prompting Polish President Lech Kaczynski to refuse to sign, calling it "pointless." In November, Sweden became the 24th EU state to ratify the charter. In 2005, a proposed European constitution failed when voters in France and the Netherlands rejected the proposal in national referenda.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on May 07, 2009 (boomark / email).