Telegraph: Czech constitutional complaint could pave way to UK Lisbon referendum

The British daily Telegraph reports that the constitutional complaint brought against the Lisbon Treaty by a group of Czech senators may allow British conservatives the time to hold a referendum. Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer has reportedly warned EU leaders in private that the challenge could create a long delay for the treaty’s ratification in the Czech Republic. Should that delay outlast the current British government, and the British Conservative Party win elections tentatively planned for May, ratification of the Lisbon Treaty would face yet another major hurdle, as the Conservatives have pledged to put the treaty to a public vote. The other countries yet to pass the Lisbon Treaty – Ireland, Germany and Poland - are expected to do so in the coming months; the fact that the Czech Republic is behind in the process has been a major issue in the country’s EU relations.