LEADALL: Focus switches to the Czechs as Irish say Yes to EU treaty

By German Press Agency dpa Oct 3, 2009, 15:20 GMT

A second-time-around referendum saw Irish voters give a clear Yes to the EU Lisbon Treaty in results announced Saturday as the focus turned to the Czech Republic, where ratification is still in doubt.

Top European Union and Czech officials are to meet in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss how to get Czech President Vaclav Klaus to sign the Lisbon Treaty.

The meeting is the first step in what analysts expect to be a massive EU campaign to convince Czech President Vaclav Klaus to sign the treaty as soon as possible.

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country currently holds the EU's presidency, and the EU's chief executive, Jose Manuel Barroso, are to meet Czech Premier Jan Fischer in Brussels on Wednesday, Reinfeldt said in a statement welcoming the Irish vote.

The Lisbon Treaty - meant to streamline the EU and give it a bigger role in global affairs - was given a firm Yes by Irish voters in Friday's refereundum which saw a turnout of around 59 per cent.

But it can only come into force once every EU member state has ratified it - leaving the Czech Republic and Poland. Polish President Lech Kaczynski is to sign 'forthwith' a spokesman said Saturday.

Such a move would leave Klaus, a vocal opponent of the treaty, as the one political obstacle to its approval.

Klaus said Saturday he respected the Irish result although it was 'stained' as it was a repeat vote conducted under pressure from Brussels. But he declined to reveal what would be his next step.

'Of course I fully respect the Irish' decision,' Klaus told reporters after addressing an anti-Lisbon rally of around 300 people at the gates of his seat, the Prague Castle.

Klaus stressed that he is currently barred from signing the treaty until the country's Constitutional Court rules on a recently lodged challenge against the Lisbon Treaty. He estimated that the top court could rule on the 59-page challenge 'within a month'.

Klaus has been attacked for allegedly dragging out the Czech ratification process until the British general election - to be held by June 2010 - which could kill the treaty.

British Conservatives, who are seen as likely winners, have vowed to hold a referendum on the pact if it is not yet adopted. The treaty is also unpopular with many voters in Britain.

EU leaders want to bring Lisbon into force on January 1, 2010. They are expected to lobby Klaus fiercely in the coming months.

Top European Union leaders - national as well as those within the EU Commission - all meanwhile hailed Ireland's Yes vote as a 'great day for Europe'.

The head of the EU's executive, Jose Manuel Barroso, who in a departure from his normal sartorial style was wearing a tie of emerald green, Ireland's national colour, also called the vote a 'great day for Ireland and for Europe.'

Barroso said that he was 'confident' that Klaus would sign, having met him at EU summits. 'I asked him frankly about this, and everything I got from him, I can say is that he will not oppose, at the end, the signature of the Lisbon treaty,' Barroso said.

Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen welcomed what he called the 'resounding Yes' from a 67-per-cent vote in favour of the treaty.

'Ireland is embracing its future with Europe,' he added, thanking the Irish people for deciding 'to remain at the heart of Europe where Ireland's future belongs.'

Ireland, which rejected the Lisbon Treaty by referendum in June 2008, went to the polls Friday to vote on the treaty for the second time.

Turnout was around 59 per cent as opposed to 53 per cent in last year's referendum. The increase is ascribed to people afraid of losing their jobs coming out to vote 'Yes.'

The Lisbon Treaty, among other reforms, aims to streamline decision-making in the bloc, which has expanded rapidly from 15 to 27 members in recent years.

It would create a 'president' and de facto foreign minister for the bloc, as well as ending national vetoes on voting on many issues.