Czech President Vaclav Klaus has given a long-awaited final seal of approval to the EU’s reforming Lisbon Treaty, paving the way for the 27-nation bloc to find a new president.
The ardent euroskeptic on Tuesday became the last EU leader to sign the landmark document into law after the top Czech court ruled that it was in line with the country’s Constitution.
Klaus remained critical of the document which is now set to come into force on Dec. 1, saying: “I cannot agree with its contents since after the validation of the Lisbon Treaty ... the Czech Republic will cease to be a sovereign state.”
The signature unties the EU’s hands to appoint a new European Commission — its executive arm — as well as fill the freshly created posts of president and foreign affairs supremo.
US President Barack Obama welcomed the ratification, saying “a strengthened and renewed EU will be an even better transatlantic partner with the United States.”
Obama said he believed the decision would “further move Europe in the direction of integration not only on economic policy but also on a number of security issues.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the bloc “will be more democratic on the inside, and stronger and more confident on the outside.”
“The importance of this day for Europe is difficult to measure. Today is the successful end to a European Union reform process that has lasted for years,” she said.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy welcomed Klaus’s signature as “good news.”
“The European Union is now able to have the new institutions that it needs to function efficiently and have a strong influence in the 21st century world,” he said.
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said he would call an EU summit shortly and “begin name consultations” to find a new top boss and chief diplomat.
Belgian Prime Minister Herman van Rompuy has been mentioned as a consensual candidate for president after support for former British prime minister Tony Blair proved weak at an EU summit last week.
The Lisbon Treaty is designed to smooth the workings of the EU, which has almost doubled in size since a swathe of ex-communist nations including the Czech Republic joined in 2004.
The delay in implementation has hampered the work of the European Commission, whose mandate expired at the end of last month, and put on ice the appointment process for the two top EU jobs.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown welcomed Klaus’ decision to sign, saying it “marks an important and historic step for all of Europe.”
“Today is a day when Europe looks forward, when it sets aside years of debate on its institutions and moves to take strong and collective action on the issues that matter most to European citizens: security, climate change, jobs and growth,” Brown said.
European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso said he believed that “the transformational potential that is there, the new external profile for the European Union, will be felt immediately.”
But Klaus, who refuses to fly the EU flag at his residence, remained unconvinced.
“Good cloudy afternoon,” Klaus, wearing a black suit and tie, said in a grim voice before telling reporters he disagreed with the constitutional court ruling that paved the way for him to sign.
Czech lawmakers approved the treaty earlier this year, but Klaus refused to sign pending the top court’s verdict on a complaint by pro-Klaus senators.
After Ireland’s two referendums on the treaty and with renewed agonizing over Europe in Britain, EU leaders were anxiously waiting for Klaus to end the impasse.
At a summit last week, they agreed to give Prague an opt-out from parts of the treaty, demanded by Klaus in what critics saw as another attempt to delay the ratification.
Klaus had asked for an exemption to ensure the treaty would not allow ethnic Germans forced out of his country after World War II on charges of Nazi collaboration to take legal action to reclaim their property.
BLOODSHED: North Koreans take extreme measures to avoid being taken prisoner and sometimes execute their own forces, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday said that Russian and North Korean forces sustained heavy losses in fighting in Russia’s southern Kursk region. Ukrainian and Western assessments say that about 11,000 North Korean troops are deployed in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces occupy swathes of territory after staging a mass cross-border incursion in August last year. In his nightly video address, Zelenskiy quoted a report from Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi as saying that the battles had taken place near the village of Makhnovka, not far from the Ukrainian border. “In battles yesterday and today near just one village, Makhnovka,
The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Poland on Tuesday expressed concern about “the political crisis” in Georgia, two days after Mikheil Kavelashvili was formally inaugurated as president of the South Caucasus nation, cementing the ruling party’s grip in what the opposition calls a blow to the country’s EU aspirations and a victory for former imperial ruler Russia. “We strongly condemn last week’s violence against peaceful protesters, media and opposition leaders, and recall Georgian authorities’ responsibility to respect human rights and protect fundamental freedoms, including the freedom to assembly and media freedom,” the three ministers wrote in a joint statement. In reaction
BARRIER BLAME: An aviation expert questioned the location of a solid wall past the end of the runway, saying that it was ‘very bad luck for this particular airplane’ A team of US investigators, including representatives from Boeing, on Tuesday examined the site of a plane crash that killed 179 people in South Korea, while authorities were conducting safety inspections on all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by the country’s airlines. All but two of the 181 people aboard the Boeing 737-800 operated by South Korean budget airline Jeju Air died in Sunday’s crash. Video showed the aircraft, without its landing gear deployed, crash-landed on its belly and overshoot a runaway at Muan International Airport before it slammed into a barrier and burst into flames. The plane was seen having engine trouble.
REVELRY ON HOLD: Students marched in Belgrade amid New Year’s events, saying that ‘there is nothing to celebrate’ after the train station tragedy killed 15 Thousands of students marched in Belgrade and two other Serbian cities during a New Year’s Eve protest that went into yesterday, demanding accountability over the fatal collapse of a train station roof in November. The incident in the city of Novi Sad occurred on Nov. 1 at a newly renovated train facility, killing 14 people — aged six to 74 — at the scene, while a 15th person died in hospital weeks later. Public outrage over the tragedy has sparked nationwide protests, with many blaming the deaths on corruption and inadequate oversight of construction projects. In Belgrade, university students marched through the capital
RSS