Czech Republic signs the Lisbon Treaty

The Czech President Vaclav Klaus, signed the Lisbon Treaty today at 3pm, Czech time (2pm in London). This means that the Lisbon Treaty can finally become a reality for Europe - probably within weeks.

The Czech Constitutional court said that the Lisbon Treaty was not agains the Constitution of the Czech Republic, which was the barrier that President Klaus gave for not signing the treaty. Now, however, he has accepted the Constitutional court's decision, though he says that it wasn't neutral, and that he still disagrees with it.

December First seemsa probable date to put the Treaty into effect but maybe the Europeans will want to wait until the New Year and start the New Decade with a new European Union.

This is the start of a New Era for the entire world. Whether it will be good or bad, only time will tell.

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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.

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A little bit more about the Lisbon Treaty

I must say I find it interesting how people spent so much time worrying about Ireland’s second referendum coming this October and that, as polls finally start to show a possible “yes” vote from the Irish, another challenge to the guaranteed unanimous decision over the treaty began to flourish— Czech Republic’s plan to delay their ratification until they see clear results from the Irish, that is.
A group of Czech senators are looking forward to file a complaint against the Lisbon Treaty and they would like the Constitutional Court to revise it and confirm there is no contradiction between the treaty and the constitution of the Czech Republic, backed up by the fear of losing, of course, the republic’s sovereignty (which they claim will be undermined), in order to proceed with the ratification. This process would take time and even moths until the final appeal is given and it looks like President Klaus is not willing to sign the ratification at any moment before he hears the final word from the Constitutional Court. This will unquestionably increase the nervousness of the European leaders and the people who has been waiting for quite some time for a resolution.
And in case Ireland, or Poland or the Czech Republic rejects the treaty… what would happen then? It would be a second failure for the reforms of the European Union. As anxiety grows in Europe, the uncertainty of the European Union’s future prevails and so it will continue if nations do not completely agree on the Lisbon treaty. Is it possible to continue growing as a community in the very same conditions? Maybe it is, but in a slower pace, I believe. But as long as that intense fear of losing power stays alive within the members, there will be no definite approach to a more integrated union.

Information:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8281098.stm
http://english.cri.cn/6966/2009/09/30/1221s519599.htm
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/54684
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6841622.ece
http://www.sofiaecho.com/2009/09/28/790844_lisbon-treaty-passes-milestone-in-germany

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