Lisbon Treaty clears Czech Senate, faces further hurdles (Roundup)

Prague - The European Union's stalled reform pact, the Lisbon Treaty, cleared another hurdle in its lengthy ratification in the Czech Republic Wednesday but faced further obstacles. The parliament's upper house approved the treaty 54-20, with six votes to spare. Three-fifths of senators present, or 48 from the 79 in attendance, were needed for the treaty to pass. Five abstained and two were not present. While the bicameral Czech parliament finished voting on the accord, the ratification requires the signature by President Vaclav Klaus, a treaty opponent who has no deadline to ink the document. 'I expect further obstructions...under the thumb of Vaclav Klaus,' said outgoing Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, a reluctant treaty backer, for whom the vote amounted to a triumphant farewell two days before his cabinet's departure. The process is likely to be further dragged out by the eurosceptic president's followers in the Senate who plan to have the pact reviewed for the second time in the Constitutional Court. The anti-Lisbon senators need to collect 17 signatures to initiate the probe. Klaus said that if they succeed he would not make up his mind before the court's ruling. He also hinted that he would not sign the pact before Ireland reverses its rejection of the treaty in a June 2008 referendum. 'The Lisbon Treaty is dead for the moment. It is dead because one member state of the European Union turned it down in a referendum,' Klaus told reporters after the vote. 'Therefore, my decision on its ratification is not on the agenda for the time being.' While the president expressed disappointment with the senators who had backed the accord, its supporters saw the vote as a rescue for the Czech Republic's reputation, tarnished by a government collapse midway through the country's EU presidency 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. The head of the EU's executive, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, also hailed the long-awaited approval. 'This vote reflects the Czech Republic's commitment to a more democratic, accountable, effective and coherent EU,' he said in a statement. Despite progress in the Czech Republic, the treaty remains in limbo owing to the Irish rejection. The EU hopes that a fresh referendum 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 member states of veto rights in most fields and make the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights legally binding for the members. Aside from in the Czech Republic and Ireland, the ratification has not been completed in Germany and Poland, whose presidents are yet to sign the charter.