Czech senators lodge Lisbon Treaty challenge (Roundup)

Sep 29, 2009, 14:03 GMT

   Prague - A group of Czech senators on Tuesday filed the second constitutional challenge against the European Union's reform treaty, putting up another hurdle to its ratification days before Irish voters are set to vote again on the pact.

   Senator Jiri Oberfalzer told the German Press Agency dpa that he lodged the petition with the Brno-based Constitutional Court, requesting it to review several sections of the so-called Lisbon Treaty.

   The step is intended to further delay a signature by President Vaclav Klaus, the last step required for the Czech Republic's ratification of the treaty after parliament approved it in May.

   To come into force, the pact, which is aimed at streamlining decision-making in the enlarged 27 bloc, requires approval by all member states.

The Czech Republic, Poland and Ireland are the last EU countries to ratify the accord.

   It remains unclear how much time the top Czech court will need to review the new complaint. Oberfalzer said that he estimates it could take some two months.

Klaus, a vocal opponent of the pact, has repeatedly said that he would not decide on whether to ink it until after the court rules on a new challenge. He also said that he would wait for the outcome of a new Irish referendum set for Friday.

   Prime Minister Jan Fischer's caretaker government put a brave face on the development.

   Minister for European Affairs Stefan Fuele said shortly before the challenge was lodged that the move 'represented an important advancement towards completion of ratification in the Czech Republic.'

   'It is a step that...will end domestic and foreign speculations regarding possible prolongation of the ratification (process) caused by repeated delays of the complaint's filing, and it will thus increase the Czech Republic's credibility,' Fuele said.

   The group of 17 anti-Lisbon senators, most of them from the centre-right Civic Democratic Party of former premier Mirek Topolanek, had postponed filing the legal challenge several times.

   The delays prompted speculation, chiefly voiced by the British press, that they were helping Klaus to delay his signature until next year's general elections in Britain, which could result in a referendum on the accord.

   Klaus recently confirmed that David Cameron, the leader of the Britain's Conservative Party, informed him that he would hold a referendum on the treaty - if his Tories win the poll and the treaty is not yet adopted.

   The elections must take place by May 2010, and the Conservatives are seen as a likely winners, opinion polls have shown. Klaus, however, added that Cameron's message would not influence his stance.

   Oberfalzer also denied such speculations. 'It is a nonsense,' he said. 'We had immense will to lodge it as soon as possible.'

   The senators requested the court to examine a number of sections of the pact, which they see as a threat to the Czech Republic's sovereignty.

Like Klaus, they view the treaty as a rehash of the defeated European Constitution, rejected by Dutch and French voters in 2005. 'When it could not be pushed through a door, it has to be forced through a window,' Oberfalzer said.

   The Lisbon Treaty was rejected by Ireland, the only EU country which put it to a public vote, in June 2008.

   The EU hopes that the treaty will enter into force on January 1, if Irish voters give it the green light on Friday, as opinion polls suggest is likely.

   Polish President Lech Kaczynski is expected to sign the pact soon if the Irish voters pass it.

The Czech Constitutional Court spent more than a half year reviewing the first challenge against the treaty, ruling on November 26, 2008, that the examined parts of the pact are 'not at odds' with the Czech constitution.

   Fuele said that Fischer's caretaker government would view further legal challenges to the treaty as 'an obstruction to the ratification.'