German court holds up ratification of EU reform treaty (Roundup)

Karlsruhe, Germany - Germany's top court ruled Tuesday that the Lisbon Treaty is compatible with German law, but said parliament's role must be strengthened before it can formally be ratified. German opponents of the treaty, which is designed to streamline the running of the European Union, challenged it in the constitutional court, arguing that the document undermined German sovereignty. Both houses of the German parliament have endorsed the treaty, which was signed by EU leaders in 2007. But President Horst Koehler withheld his signature pending the decision by the top court. 'The Basic Law says 'yes' to the Lisbon Treaty, but demands a strengthening of parliamentary responsibilities at the national level,' said the court's vice president, Andreas Vosskuhle. Only when this happened could ratification be completed, Vosskuhle said in reading out the 150-page judgement. 'The court is optimistic the final 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 to draft 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 on September 27. Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was optimistic the ratification process would be completed before the 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 Merkel's Christian Democrats. The Left Party also sought an injunction against the treaty, claiming it breached parliamentary rights. Outright rejection of the treaty by the German court would have sounded a death knell for the future of the 27 EU states' reform process. In addition to Germany, three other countries - Poland, the Czech Republic and Ireland - have still to approve the treaty before it can come into force at the start of 2010. The biggest hurdle is likely to be a second public referendum on the treaty in Ireland, after voters there rejected it in June 2008. The Lisbon Treaty replaced the earlier proposed EU constitution, which was vetoed 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. EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, welcomed the German court ruling. 'I am confident that, with this judgement, the court has cleared the way for a swift conclusion of the German ratification,' he said in a statement released in Brussels. 'I am confident that we can complete the process of ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon in all countries by the autumn,' he added. Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, whose country takes over the EU presidency on Wednesday, told journalists in Sweden that the court decision 'is not a big sensation.' He said it would not influence the presidency timetable and that it was 'not necessarily a bad thing' to strengthen the role of parliament. In its ruling, the court noted the German parliament had 'not been accorded sufficient rights of participation in European lawmaking procedures and treaty amendment procedures.' It said the process of European unity should 'not be allowed to undermine the ruling democratic order in Germany.' Members of the EU should have sufficient scope for political decision making in relation to economic, cultural and social living conditions, it said. In particular, this applied to criminal law, police issues, the military, tax matters, social expenditure and family law, the judges wrote in their ruling.