Klaus last to decide on Lisbon

The Czech president, Václav Klaus, told Czech Radio on Tuesday that he would only make up his mind on whether or not he will ratify the Lisbon treaty after all other EU states have reached a decision. Mr Klaus, who is a staunch critic of the reform document, said he would wait for the result of the Irish referendum scheduled for October. He also said he would not decide before the Constitutional Courts in the Czech Republic and Germany reach their verdicts on the document, and he will also wait for the Polish position on the issue.

The Lisbon treaty was approved by both chambers of the Czech Parliament earlier this year but President Klaus refused to complete the ratification process. He said that putting his signature to the treaty would put Ireland under pressure to ratify the document.

Author: Jan Richter