Czech court to rule on legality of Lisbon pact

THE CZECH Republic's constitutional court is expected to rule today on the legality of the European Union's Lisbon Treaty, after President Vaclav Klaus denounced it before the court as a grave danger to his country's sovereignty.

The arch-Eurosceptic also announced, however, that he would sign the treaty if the Czech Republic and Ireland ultimately joined the rest of the EU in supporting it.

"There is no and there can be no dispute . . . the proposed Lisbon Treaty is in conflict with some articles of the Czech constitutional order," Mr Klaus told the court yesterday, claiming that it "runs counter to the principle of sovereignty of the Czech state" and would "weaken our country's influence in decision-making in the EU".

"The Lisbon Treaty . . . begins a process at the end of which the European Union will be the sovereign that sets the norms and rules for individual member states and their citizens," Mr Klaus said during a three-hour hearing, which was broadcast live on national television.

The Czech Republic, Poland, Germany and Ireland have yet to ratify the treaty, which is intended to streamline the workings of the EU and aid further enlargement, but which critics claim would transfer too much power from national governments to Brussels.

A rejection by Prague could condemn it to death and leave EU decision-making and plans for expansion in limbo, while Czech approval of the charter would deepen Dublin's isolation on the issue after the public's No vote in June, and increase pressure for another Irish referendum.

"If this treaty comes into force, the international position as well as internal conditions within our state will change . . . The democratically established authorities of our state will be deprived of the right to decide on many areas of public life, and this administration will be turned over to the EU authorities, which are not subjected to sufficient democratic control," Mr Klaus said.

His strident criticism of the treaty has angered many Czechs, including some members of the ruling Civic Democrat (ODS) party that he founded, such as prime minister Mirek Topolanek.

Mr Topolanek supports the treaty, but admits that the Czech Republic will not be able to ratify it before taking over the rotating EU presidency in January.

With Ireland's stance on the treaty set to be a key issue for the union next year, the uncertainty over Prague's position has unnerved some states.

The ratification process in the lower house of the Czech parliament - where most deputies back the treaty - was suspended in April, when the upper house, or Senate, referred several of its articles to the constitutional court.

Eurosceptic members of the ODS are a potent force in the Senate.

The constitutional court was due to issue its verdict earlier this month, but Mr Klaus requested a postponement because the final hearing would have coincided with a visit to Ireland, where he raised hackles among treaty advocates by dining with Libertas chairman Declan Ganley.

If both houses of parliament finally ratify the treaty, Mr Klaus would be expected to sign it into law. After months of speculation, he revealed yesterday that he would be prepared to do that - if Ireland also approves the charter.

"If everybody agrees that the Lisbon Treaty . . . must be, that there is only one person who would want to block it by not signing, and that person is the Czech president - I will not do this," he said.

Telling the court's 15 judges that they were about to deliver "the most important decision will ever have to make", Mr Klaus concentrated on whether the treaty would undermine the constitution's defence of Czech sovereignty and democracy, and argued that it would "change the terms of our membership of the EU" and potentially make the Czech Republic a "subject of a federal state, or a state of a federal type".

"The deepening of European integration should not occur in secrecy, behind the backs of the citizens of member states, and neither can it be forced on them against their will," he told the court.

Speaking for the government, in favour of the treaty, deputy prime minister Alexandr Vondra insisted that it posed no danger to the "material core" of the constitution - the elements concerning the preservation of Czech sovereignty and democracy.

"The Lisbon Treaty does not turn the union into a federation - it is still a union of sovereign states," he claimed, adding that "the Czech Republic will also remain a democratic country", because the EU was "based on the same democratic principles as the Czech Republic".

"The Lisbon Treaty does not alter these principles, just the opposite - it strengthens them," he said.