EU commissioner Špidla: Lisbon delay pushes country into isolation

The Czech EU commissioner, Vladimír Špidla, has warned that delaying the ratification of the Lisbon treaty is driving the Czech Republic into “significant isolation”. Mr Špidla told the ČTK news agency on Saturday that the current situation not only weakens the Czech position within the European Union, but also undermines the countries relations to other EU member states. These issues, according to Commissioner Špidla, are much more important than whether or not the Czech Republic will lose its seat on the European Commission. That might happen if the Lisbon treaty is not ratified and the EU will be governed under the Treaty of Nice.