Prime Minister says referendum on EU constitution not a certainty yet

Prime Minister Stanislav Gross has said that it is not yet certain whether the Czech Republic will hold a referendum on the EU constitutional treaty, and if so, when the referendum will take place. However, the prime minister has said he hoped the constitution would be ratified. On Friday Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda pointed out that the question of shortening the process of ratification had been raised in Brussels, to not take a full two years among all EU states.

Originally, the Czech government said it aimed to hold its referendum on the constitution treaty in June 2006, simultaneously with general elections.

The deadline for the ratification of the EU constitution is October 2006.