EUROSCEPTIC CZECH president Vaclav Klaus says he wants a new footnote added to the Lisbon Treaty before he agrees to complete its ratification.
The demand, which relates to an opt-out from the Charter of Fundamental Rights, puts the Czech Republic on a collision course with its EU partners, who all want speedy ratification.
It also threatens to prompt a constitutional crisis in the Czech Republic where the government and parliament only learned about Mr Klaus’s latest request following news reports yesterday.
Mr Klaus asked for the footnote in a telephone conversation with Swedish prime minister Fredrick Reinfeldt, acting president of the European Council.
“In order to sign the treaty, Klaus asked for a footnote of two sentences added relating to the charter of fundamental rights,” said Mr Reinfeldt, who added that he needed more detail on exactly what he wanted.
“He said he wants this adopted by the council [of EU leaders]. I told him this is the wrong message at the wrong time for the EU. I told him clearly it is his ink on the paper that counts and I don’t want this to delay the treaty going through as soon as possible,” he added.
The Czech Republic and Poland are the last two states in the EU to ratify the treaty. Polish president Lech Kaczynski is expected to sign the treaty on Saturday at a ceremony attended by European Commission president José Manuel Barroso, but Mr Klaus is a trenchant opponent of EU integration and is actively working with conservative Czech senators to delay ratification.
Seventeen senators have lodged a new court challenge against the treaty, alleging it would create a new “EU superstate”.
However the demand by Mr Klaus to insert a new paragraph into the text is a new development, which has the potential to delay ratification until a new Conservative government comes to power in Britain.
Any change to the text of the Lisbon Treaty would require re-ratification in all 27 member states, which is a non-starter for EU leaders. However it is believed that Mr Klaus would like a new footnote agreed by all 27 EU leaders in a similar fashion to the Irish guarantees on the Lisbon Treaty.
This footnote, which would provide opt-outs from elements of the charter, could be enshrined into EU law when the next accession treaty is agreed by all EU states in 2011.
Mr Klaus is expected to explain his proposal more fully at a meeting with European Parliament president Jerzy Buzek today in Prague.
It is unclear whether Mr Klaus has the power as president to make any demands on behalf of the Czech people. Under the Czech constitution, these powers lie with the Czech government and parliament, say Czech sources.
Last night Czech European affairs minister Stefan Fule told The Irish Timesthat Mr Klaus had not only surprised the Swedes with his latest request but also his government, which was looking into the matter.
Britain and Poland both negotiated an opt-out from the charter of fundamental rights when the Lisbon Treaty was agreed by member states in 2007.