Czech Republic in favour of extended deadline on ratification of EU Constitution

The Czech Republic will propose to its European partners that the ratification of the EU Constitution should continue but that the whole process should be delayed in the light of the French rejection of the treaty. Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek said on Wednesday that his three party coalition, which strongly backs the treaty, had given him a mandate to seek an extension of the ratification process at a summit of European leaders on June 16th. Mr. Paroubek said that the Czech government would press ahead with its information campaign on the EU Constitution despite calls from the Christian Democrats, one of the smaller parties in government, that it should be suspended, pending a decision by the EU leadership.