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Irish President signs EU reform treaty
Oct 16, 2009, 8:12 GMT
Dublin - Irish President Mary McAleese has signed the European Union Reform Treaty, leaving the Czech Republic the last of the 27 EU states still to sign, her office confirmed Friday.
McAleese formally ratified a bill reconciling the Lisbon Treaty with Ireland's constitution after 67 per cent of people in Ireland voted in favour of the treaty in a referendum earlier this month.
Czech president Vaclav Klaus, a critic of what is also known as the Lisbon Treaty, is the last head of state whose signature is required before the reform pact can come into force.
Klaus, a vocal eurosceptic, says he is concerned that the charter could allow German nationals expelled from Czech territory after World War II to reclaim their former properties.
Both the Czech government and officials in Brussels view this as an unwarranted concern, since the charter cannot be applied retroactively.
The Lisbon Treaty seeks to streamline its decision-making and to boost the bloc's international stance through the appointment of a permanent Council President and a beefed-up foreign policy chief, with his or her own diplomatic corps.
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