PRAGUE - Czech President Vaclav Klaus
signed the EU's Lisbon Treaty on Tuesday, removing the last
barrier to the bloc's plan to overhaul its institutions and win
a bigger role on the world stage.
Klaus was the last EU leader to ratify the treaty and his
signature means the bloc of nearly half a billion people can now
focus on picking its first president and a more powerful foreign
representative to speak for it on global affairs.
The treaty, with roots in the failed European Constitution
rejected by voters in two member states in 2005, is aimed at
making the European Union more flexible and a stronger player on
the world scene, to match the rise of emerging powers like
China.
The staunchly eurosceptic Czech president signed the pact
after the country's Constitutional Court had thrown out a
complaint against it earlier in the day.
"I had expected the court ruling and I respect it, although
I fundamentally disagree with its content and justification,"
Klaus told reporters. "I signed the Lisbon Treaty today at 1500
(local time)."
The Swedish EU presidency said the treaty would take effect
in December, turning attention to the choice of the bloc's first
president.
Swedish Prime Minister Frederik Reinfeldt said he would call
an EU summit to discuss possible appointments under the treaty.
European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek told Reuters
Klaus's signing was "great news". Governments should now get on
with nominations for the new posts as quickly as possible, he
said.
EU leaders failed to agree at a summit last week in Brussels
on who should hold the new EU presidency, a post whose powers
are still somewhat unclear.
The chances of once-favoured Briton Tony Blair, the former
prime minister, seem doomed after he failed to win the backing
of the European Socialists, his Labour Party's allies.
No front-runner has emerged, but possible contenders include
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, former Finnish prime
minister Paavo Lipponen and Luxembourg Prime Minister
Jean-Claude Juncker.
The Czech president had been banned by law from signing the
treaty until the Constitutional Court had ruled on a complaint
by his allies in the Czech upper house, the Senate, who argued
the treaty would erode national sovereignty.
The court rejected the arguments. "The judgment was
unanimous; none of the judges filed a dissenting opinion to
either the judgment or its reasoning," the court said in a
written verdict.
The Czech parliament has approved the pact but Klaus long
argued against it, saying it would turn the bloc into a
superstate with little democratic control.
"With the Lisbon Treaty taking effect, the Czech Republic
will cease to be a sovereign state, despite the political
opinion of the Constitutional Court," Klaus said.
He had said he would raise no further obstacles after EU
leaders agreed last week to give the Czechs an opt-out from a
rights charter attached to the treaty. Klaus says this was
necessary to avoid property claims by Germans expelled from
Czechoslovakia after World War Two.
"President Klaus' decision marks an important and historic
step for all of Europe," British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
said.
"Today is a day when Europe looks forward, when it sets
aside years of debate on its institutions, and moves to take
strong and collective action on the issues that matter most to
European citizens: security, climate change, jobs and growth."