Pjotr Maciej Kaczýnski, Sebastian Kurpas and Peadar ó Broin have analysed the state of play in four EU member states, where the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon is on hold. ‘Ratification of the Lisbon Treaty ─ Ireland is not the only problem’ (EPIN Working Paper No. 18, published 24 September 2008; 16 pages) is available for downloading at: The issues and the coalit...

The ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, and the deposit of the ratification documents in Rome (this last an essential part of the process of putting the Lisbon Treaty into operation) continues to be misrepresented by the media and continues to be prevented by the Czech Republic, Poland, Germany and Ireland. Ireland voted the Treaty down by referendum and is the most obvious stumbling block. The Cze...

Legal uncertainties surround the European Union preparing for the European elections and a new Commission without knowing if the Treaty of Nice will continue in force or exactly how the Treaty of Lisbon takes over, if ratified. The previous blog post ‘Lisbon Treaty ratification (Ireland)’ presented the main points of the memorandum discussed by the EU Committee of the Finnish Governmen...

It is astonishing to think that the ratification of the Lisbon treaty has been rammed through 27 national parliaments, including in the UK, with very serious questions over legality. That is not my opinion. That is the view of the...

Czech news site Aktualne.cz reports that pressure on Czech President Vaclav Klaus to sign the Lisbon Treaty is growing following the Czech Senate’s vote to approve the Treaty last week. Klaus has expressed his reluctance to provide his signature, which is required to complete formal ratification in the Czech Republic, before the second referendum on the Treaty is held in Ireland.

Ireland has stood firm against the Lisbon Treaty, against the expectations of the EU. The battle is on to somehow obtain a 'solution' to the Irish problem, either a second referendum with a different result (unlikely), or an all-Party Parliamentary ratification (unlikely) or some kind of legal stitch-up (very possible). But that assumes that all the other 26 countries will ratify the Treaty.German...

There is continuing worry about the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, and rightly so. Doubtless the EU will want to rush the ratification through in Ireland as soon as possible. They have

The High Court will give its judgement tomorrow on Stuart Wheeler's attempt to have the Government's refusal to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty declared illegal.Last week, Lord Justice Richard's ordered Gordon Brown to suspend the ratification process "until judgement".While the Treaty now has Royal Assent, the ratification process will not be complete until the relevant legal documents ar...

Euractiv reports that Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek has put the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty in the country’s Senate ‘on ice’, after US President Barack Obama put plans for a US missile shield in the country on hold. The Czech Senate has said it would be unable to move on ratifying the Lisbon Treaty without agreement on a missile shield.

This blog is not the only one to wonder at the lack of information about preparatory work concerning the ratification and implementation of the European Union’s Treaty of Lisbon. On 25 February 2009 the EU Committee of the Finnish Government discussed a memorandum on the state of play since the December 2008 European Council (Lissabonin sopimus ─ Eteneminen joulukuun 2008 Eurooppa-neuvosto...