Prague - The European Union's stalled reform pact, the
Lisbon Treaty, cleared another hurdle in its lengthy
ratification in the Czech Republic Wednesday when parliament's upper
house approved it.
The Senate passed the treaty 54-20 in a triumphant farewell for
outgoing Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, a reluctant supporter of the
pact, whose cabinet is scheduled to quit on Friday. Five senators
abstained from the vote and two were not present.
Three-fifths of senators present, or 48 out of the 79 attending
were needed for the pact's approval, a hurdle it passed with six
votes to spare.
The vote, the treaty's supporters said, salvaged the Czech EU
presidency's reputation, which had been tarnished by the collapse of
the country's government halfway through its EU term ending June 30.
'It is a great day for the Czech Republic, for its standing and
influence in the European Union and in the world,' said outgoing
Vice-Premier for European Affairs Alexandr Vondra.
While the bicameral Czech parliament finished voting on the
accord, the ratification requires the signature of President Vaclav
Klaus, a treaty critic who has no deadline to ink the document.
The Czech ratification could also be further dragged out by Klaus'
followers in the Senate, who hope to have it reviewed in court.
Anti-Lisbon senators need to collect 17 signatures to initiate the
probe.
Despite progress in the Czech Republic, the treaty has been in
limbo since the Irish voted it down in a referendum in June 2008. The
EU hopes that a fresh vote in the autumn will bring it back to life.
If adopted by all EU members, the pact would allow the 27-member
bloc to reform its institutions with the aim of streamlining
decision-making and boosting its global standing.
The accord would replace the EU's rotating presidency with an
elected president, create the post of a de-facto foreign minister,
strip members of veto rights in most fields and make the EU's Charter
of Fundamental Rights legally binding for member states.
Aside from in the Czech Republic and Ireland, the ratification has
yet to be completed in Germany and Poland.
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