国际英语新闻：Czech republic to ratify Lisbon Treaty eventually, but with some hagglings

BEIJING, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- While the whole Europe hailed Irish "yes" to the Lisbon Treaty, the Czech republic remains reluctant to sign the document, putting obstacles on the path of the European Union (EU)'s treaty ratification.

    Analysts said that under uNPRecedented pressure from the international community, Czech politicians have resorted to "dragging-on strategy" concerning the ratification process.

    Nevertheless, it seems likely that the Czech republic will eventually ratify the treaty, but only after some "behind-the-scene hagglings," analysts said.

    THE CZECH REPUBLIC: "DRAGGING-ON STRATEGY"

    Irish voters approved the Lisbon Treaty in a second referendum on Saturday after their first "no" vote to the treaty in June 2008.

    The Lisbon Treaty, signed by EU heads of state and government in December 2007 in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, was designed to boost the EU's global standing through reforming its institutions.

    The charter must be ratified by all 27 EU member states before it can come into force. Following the latest Irish "yes" to the treaty, only Polish President Kaczynski and his Czech counterpart Vaclav Klaus have yet to sign it.

    However, Polish Presidential Minister Pawel Wypych said earlier that President Lech Kaczynski will sign the treaty on behalf of Poland some time next week. That may leave Klaus the odd man to complete the ratification, analysts said.

    Czech senators, mainly from the Civic Democrats, submitted their proposal to the country's Constitution Court late last September for further examination whether the EU Lisbon Treaty complies with the country's constitution.

    The Court will deal with the proposal within a month, which will delay the ratification process of the EU reform treaty.

    Even after Ireland's referendum, Czech senators still rejected the idea that they withdraw the complaint against the treaty.

    Under the Czech law, any treaty will come into force only after the president signs it. As Klaus, a Eurosceptic and opponent of the EU reform document, has not yet signed the treaty even after both houses of parliament approved it, the document stands little chance of coming into force any time soon.

    Klaus said he would wait for the Constitutional Court's decision on the new complaint, which further delayed the process.

    Analysts said Czech politicians were using "dragging-on strategy" over the issue.

    French media said Klaus will delay the signing of the Lisbon Treaty as he is waiting for the election victory of the British Conservatives whose leader David Cameron has promised to call a referendum on the treaty if it did not take force by the parliamentary elections scheduled for early June next year.

    Czech media said Klaus would like to ditch the EU treaty, but as the head of the Czech state he does not want to take direct responsibility.

    Czech senators' constitutional complaint is just "a purely expedient step" with political goals, the country's media noted.

    Klaus "would like the haggling over the Lisbon Treaty to last as long as possible", Czech newspaper Hospodarske Noviny said.

　　EU:"CARROT AND STICK" POLICY

    After Ireland's referendum, the whole Europe is fixing its eyes on the Czech republic's stance on Lisbon Treaty, analysts said, adding that the country and its leaders have faced uNPRecedented pressure from the international community over the issue.

    ODS Chairman Mirek Topolanek said after a meeting with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso last week that the Czech republic might lose a seat in the commission if Klaus did not sign the EU reform treaty.

    If the Lisbon Treaty did not take effect, the EU would have to continue to function according to the Nice Treaty that stipulates the lowering of the number of EU commissioners from the current 27.

    Analysts said EU's "stick policy" has taken effect. Some Czech leaders have expressed their concerns and criticism to the "dragging-on strategy."

    Czech EU commissioner Vladimir Spidla said the process of the treaty ratification are hardly comprehensible to its EU partners, noting that this weakens his country's position in the EU.

    Czech media also said a country which is unable to respect the consensus and the rules of the almost half-a-billion democratic community has no place in this community.

    Czech interim Prime Minister Jan Fischer said on Saturday that Lisbon Treaty will be ratified soon in his country so that the document could come into force by the end of 2009.

    Barroso, along with Fischer, is to debate the ratification process with Fredrik Reinfeldt, prime minister of the EU-presiding Sweden in Brussels on Wednesday.

    While threatening with "stick", the EU also tried to lure with "carrot," analysts said, adding that there are "backstage deals" in the whole process.

    Czechs might receive a major post in the new European Commission in exchange for Klaus' signature to complete the ratification process, observers said.

    At the end of this month, an EU summit will discuss the distribution of posts in the EU and the composition of the new Commission.

    Furthermore, after the U.S. administration of President Barack Obama scrapped its controversial missile defense shield program in Eastern Europe, Czech politicians warned that their country must not end up on the EU's margin, since such a situation would make the country more vulnerable to Russia's influence.

    Nevertheless, Hugo Brady, head of the London-based Center for European Reform think-tank, concluded Klaus would sign the Lisbon Treaty in the end since further resistance brings no political profit either to the Czech republic or Klaus himself.