EU leaders seek Czech deal over Lisbon treaty

EU leaders started a two-day summit meeting in Brussels on Thursday. One of the major tasks facing them is to discuss a last minute demand for an exemption from part of the EU’s reforming Lisbon treaty sought by Czech President Václav Klaus. President Klaus wants firm guarantees that the treaty can not be used by Germans expelled from Czechoslovakia after World War II to reclaim property. Diplomatic sources told the Czech News Agency that a deal on the exemption should be thrashed out on Thursday evening. But Hungary, which has opposed the exemption, says it will decide on its final stance during the summit.

The Czech Republic is the last of the EU’s 27 to ratify the Lisbon treaty which should take effect at the start of next year. Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer said on Wednesday that President Klaus had given guarantees he will not erect new barriers to ratification if his exemption is delivered and the country’s highest court gives it the all clear. The Czech Constitutional Court is expected to rule on Tuesday over a complaint about whether the Lisbon treaty is in conformity with Czech law.