Czech Court Orders President to Delay EU Treaty Ratification
The Czech Constitutional Court has ordered the president of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus, to refrain from ratifying the Lisbon Treaty until it makes a judgement on its validity.
The latest setback to the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty comes as Irish voters determine today if Ireland will approve the treaty in a forced rerun referendum.
The Czech court is considering a complaint against the treaty filed by a group of senators earlier this week. Apparently the court will make a ruling on the treaty “within three weeks” and has ordered the president to refrain from signing the treaty until then.
The Czech Republic remains one of three countries hovering on accepting the Lisbon Treaty. Although Ireland rejected the treaty last year, the EU dictators ordered that it be brought before the voters once again. The European Commission has blatantly and illegally interfered in the campaign, using taxpayer money to spread ‘vote yes’ material.
The Euro-sceptic presidents of the Czech Republic and Poland have said they would wait for the outcome of the Irish vote before making a final decision.
The referendum results in Ireland will only be released on Saturday afternoon, right in the middle of the Conservative Party conference taking place this weekend. If the yes vote wins, the Tories will have to clarify their final position on the EU constitution should they win the next election.
The outcome is likely to dominate proceedings at the Tory conference and bring to a head the bitter differences between the Euro-sceptic and Europhile wings of that party.
David Cameron has attempted to walk a fine line between the two camps by prevaricating on the subject, but has of late indicated that if the treaty is a done deal by the time he hopes to enter Downing Street, the Conservatives will simply go along with it.
Opinion polls in Ireland have shown a steady lead for the yes campaign which has narrowed slightly in the last few weeks. All of Ireland’s main political parties have temporarily shelved their rivalries to campaign for the yes vote with only Sinn Féin opposing the treaty.
