Lisbon Treaty ratification to continue

EU leaders have agreed the ratification process on the Lisbon Treaty will continue, although the Czech Republic has stalled pending a constitutional court decision. Lawmakers in the Senate previously petitioned the court to examine the document’s compatibility with Czech law before the matter went to a parliamentary vote. Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek and other members of the Czech delegation at the EU summit in Brussels made sure a clause on the Czech situation was noted by the EU on Friday.

The Lisbon Treaty first hit a hurdle in Ireland’s referendum last week, where it was rejected by more than 53 percent of voters. That spurred critics of the document, including Czech President Václav Klaus, to declare it “finished”. EU leaders have since scrambled to save the project, aimed at reforming the functioning of the 27-member union.