German court holds up ratification of EU reform treaty (2nd Lead)

Karlsruhe, Germany - Germany's highest court ruled Tuesday that the Lisbon Treaty on European Union reform is compatible with German law, but held back approval for immediate ratification. German opponents of the reform treaty challenged it in the nation's constitutional court, arguing the document undermined German sovereignty. Both houses of the German parliament have endorsed the treaty, which was agreed by EU leaders in 2007, but President Horst Koehler withheld his signature pending the decision by the constitutional court. The court ruled that changes were needed in domestic legislation implementing the Lisbon treaty in order to ensure parliament maintained a key role in matters of national sovereignty. Only when this happened could ratification be completed, the court's vice president, Andreas Vosskuhle, said in reading out the 150-page judgement. 'The court is optimistic that the last hurdle before ratification will be cleared quickly,' he added. In response to the court decision, the German lower house or Bundestag agreed to meet in August on a law giving parliament more powers in matters related to EU affairs. A second reading of the bill is scheduled for September 8, less than three weeks before the nation goes to the polls in a general election. The legal challenge to the treaty was mounted by more than 50 federal legislators, among them Peter Gauweiler, a maverick deputy in the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats. The Left Party also sought an injunction against the treaty, claiming it breached parliamentary rights. In addition to Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic and Ireland have still to approve the treaty before it can come into force at the start of 2010. Outright rejection of the treaty would have sounded a death knell for the future of the 27 EU states' reform process. The Lisbon Treaty replaced the earlier proposed EU constitution, which was rejected by French and Dutch voters in referendums in 2005. The treaty would, among other reforms, create a post of president of the European Union, and a permanent high representative for foreign affairs, and bring in more qualified majority voting.