Lisbon Treaty Developments

Dear Students,

After hearing the Irish vote yes to the Lisbon Treaty on October 02nd, we are now seeing some very interesting developments in Europe.

The final country that needs to ratify the treaty for it to come into effect is the Czech Republic. Its Parliament has already ratified the document, but the President, Vaclav Klaus, is against the treaty and does not want to sign. Without his signature it cannot come into effect in any of the 27 countries.

This is a tense political situation because he is now facing pressure from the entire EU to sign - and there are reports that the Czech Government may force him out of office to enable the treaty to come into effect!

Obviously this is a dangerous situation, but from a uniquely academic point of view I feel that we should all follow this situation closely over the next two weeks, which will be crucial.

To understand how the President is delaying the ratification, and to put this into perspective, I include two articles (in Spanish) for you to read. The first explains today's news from the European Commission. The second speaks about Tony Blair and the possibilities that he could be the first EU President.

1) http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Barroso/condena/Praga/aislamiento/firma/tratado/europeo/elpepuint/20091014elpepiint_3/Tes

2) http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/presidente/Europa/elpepuint/20091014elpepiint_4/Tes

I actively want everyone to follow these issues over the next couple of weeks as they are very important.

See you in the next class.

Maestro.