Thread: Czech president refers Lisbon Treaty to court

Czech president refers Lisbon Treaty to court

Vaclav Klaus, the Czech president, has threatened to derail attempts to see the controversial Lisbon Treaty take effect before the end of the year.

By Martin Banks in Brussels
Published: 6:03PM BST 26 Jul 2009

Supported by 17 Czech senators, Mr Klaus, a critic of the treaty, plans to refer the document to his country's constitutional court at the start of August.

In seeking a ruling on whether the treaty complies with the Czech constitution, Mr Klaus would be able to delay signing the treaty into Czech law until the court had given its verdict.

That could thwart the ambitions of Sweden, current holder of the EU's rotating presidency, to see the Treaty's provisions pushed through before the end of the year if Ireland votes to approve the treaty in its Oct 2 referendum.

Fredrik Reinfeldt, the Swedish prime minister, said recently he wanted to see the EU "move over to the Lisbon Treaty, if possible, late in our presidency".

He wants an EU heads of state summit in Brussels on 29-30 October to nominate candidates for two influential posts which will be created if, and when, the treaty is ratified. The posts are President of the European Council, for which Tony Blair is expected to be the UK government's candidate, and a new High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy.

The treaty, which also envisages an EU diplomatic service, is highly controversial because its critics say it will strip member states of many of their powers.

Germany and Poland still have to ratify the treaty. While they are widely expected to do so, any further delay could hold up the appointment of the new European Commission, which is due to take office on Nov 1.

Andrew Duff, the UK Liberal MEP, accused Mr Klaus of procrastinating.

Meanwhile, one of the key figures in the pro-treaty campaign in Ireland has admitted that the "Yes" camp faces a "tough campaign" over the next two months.

The latest opinion polls suggest a "Yes" vote would be possible, but Pat Cox, campaign director of Ireland for Europe, an independent civil society group promoting ratification, said, "Ireland is a very different place today to what it was a year ago. The financial crisis has rocked our confidence. We are reeling from a series of body blows over the last 12 months. There is no room for complacency.

"There are those on the No side who will seek to exploit our present uncertainty to encourage the Irish people to vote against our own interests and reject the Treaty.

"We do not plan to let them succeed," Mr Cox, a former Irish MEP and president of the European Parliament, added.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... court.html

Ireland commissioner says most EU countries would reject Lisbon Treaty

Ireland's EU Commissioner, Charlie McCreevy, has conceded that voters in most EU countries would reject the stalled Lisbon Treaty.

By Martin Banks in Brussels
Published: 5:55PM BST 28 Jun 2009

His admission came as Brian Cowen, the Irsih prime minister, was set to announce 2 October as the date when Ireland holds its second referendum on the document.

The treaty, which proposes the first full-time President of the European Council, is highly contentious and was rejected by the Irish in a referendum in June last year.

But current opinion polls suggest the Irish will vote Yes this time.

However, Mr McCreevy, the internal market commissioner, said that if the treaty had been put to a public vote, it would have been rejected by 95 per cent of the 27 member states.

The former Irish finance minister said: "When Irish people rejected the Treaty a year ago, the initial reaction ranged from shock to horror to temper to vexation. That would be the view of a lot of the people who live in the Brussels beltway.

"On the other hand, all of the political leaders know quite well that if a similar question was put to their electorate by a referendum, the answer in 95 per cent of the countries would probably have been 'No' as well.

"I have always divided the reaction between those two forces: those within the beltway, the 'fonctionnaires', those who gasp with horror, and on the other hand the heads of state who are far more realistic. They are glad they didn't have to put the question themselves to their people."

He said the Irish should not be ashamed about voting No, adding: "We might not like the result on occasion, but that's democracy, and we should not be ashamed of it."

Having reflected more deeply on the benefits of EU membership, he is hopeful the Irish will ratify the treaty in the autumn.

"Everybody says we do not know enough about Europe. But I can tell you that the ordinary people of Ireland know a damn sight more about the intricacies of the European framework than nearly all members of the other 27 states."

At an EU summit on 19 June, Ireland won legal guarantees on military neutrality and tax and family policies, and if there is a Yes vote in October, the hope is that EU leaders will then take decisions on the first full time President of the European Council, a new high representative for foreign and security policy, and on creating an External Action Service.

If the Irish vote No, the EU will be thrown into a new political crisis which will affect its decision-making capacity on all major issues.

Meanwhile, socialist members of the parliament in the Czech Republic are considering suspending the powers of the country's Eurosceptic President, Vaclav Klaus, on the grounds that he is "trying to act above the law".

Mr Klaus, a diehard opponent of the treaty, still has to sign off the document, even though it was ratified by the Czech parliament in May last year.

Alena Gajduskova, Czech Social Democrat MP, whose party has 29 of the 81 seats in parliament, said: "There is nothing in our constitution that gives the President the right to veto decisions of the country's highest institutions."

Mr Klaus has written to Jan Fischer, the Czech prime minister, stating that the Irish guarantees would have to be ratified by the Czech parliament or he (Klaus) would not sign the treaty.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... reaty.html

The EU = The Re-emergence of the Holy Roman Empire ( look at old maps of their geography) with Germany at the helm. Remember that Germany caused two world wars and they are not done yet. Anytime you have a conglomeration of nations coming together there will be more than one nation seeking dominance over the nations. This is where Germany and One World Order comes in according to biblical prophecy.

While Europe is moving away from this sham the US is moving toward it. What a joke. I guess we don't learn from history or example. The rest of the world is going to what America use to be. Impeach Nobummer.

Sadly ,Europe is being over taken by Islam. However, I hope somehow they can move toward Democracy.

I agree impeach Bummer Barry.

Germany did not start WW1.

Germany WAS instrumental in WWI.