Foreign Minister Schwarzenberg: Czechs will not support further Lisbon Treaty ratification

Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said the Czech Republic would not support further ratifications of the Lisbon Treaty. Mr Schwarzenberg told the Austrian daily Der Standard on Thursday that if the EU summit in Brussels comes up with such a proposal, the Czech Republic will not support it. The Czech foreign minister also said that it was very important for all EU institutions to “resist the temptation” and not pressure countries which have not yet ratified the Lisbon Treaty. Mr Schwarzenberg is attending an EU summit looking at ways out of the crisis caused by Ireland’s rejection of the reform document.

The Czech Republic is one of five EU countries which have not yet began the Lisbon Treaty ratification process. The Constitutional Court is due to rule after the summer on whether the document is in line with the Czech constitution.