Lisbon Treaty clears Czech Senate (2nd Lead)

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.