The passing of the Lisbon Treaty vote in the Czech Republic Senate had been a foregone conclusion and already discounted. It is the President who has been always the stumbling block for Lisbon. He has stated he will not sign the ratification until the Irish referendum is overturned. Until then, Lisbon continues to be denied by Ireland, Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany. It is misleading of th...

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.

Asked if the Prime Minister would welcome a second referendum in Ireland and would it have any impact on a possible referendum in the UK, the PMS replied that as people knew, we had already ratified the Lisbon Treaty and had had an extensive parliamentary debate on the passage of the Lisbon Treaty Bill. Any decision that the Irish took on their own ratification process, was a matter for the Irish ...

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...

Sarkozy pulls out of meeting with "No" campaigners Numerous papers report that the Irish government is "privately furious" following French President Nicolas Sarkozy's demand on Tuesday that Ireland will have to hold a second Lisbon Treaty referendum. "It is far, far too early to be talking about a referendum or about some specific policy to go forward," the Irish European Affairs Minister, Dick R...

The Irish Times reports that Czech President Vaclav Klaus yesterday met with Declan Ganley, the head of Irish anti-Lisbon group Libertas, while on an official visit to Ireland. During the meeting, he said he was not happy with what he described as attempts by Europe to “forget the Irish referendum and to change the result”.

The Czech Senate yesterday approved the Lisbon Treaty in a vote by 54 to 20, reports the FT. 48 votes were needed to pass the Treaty. Before the vote, Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek told senators “I do not accept the Lisbon Treaty with much enthusiasm, but I see it as the price we have to pay for participating in European integration”.

Irish government confirms it is considering a second referendum in March Following a meeting with Irish Taoiseach Brian Cowen in Dublin yesterday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy denied that he had last week suggested the Irish should be made to vote again on the Lisbon Treaty.

Brussels, 6th May: The Lisbon Treaty has not yet been ratified in Germany or Poland. Ireland has rejected it  and President Klaus will have the final say in the Czech republic. The vote today merely shows that despite close to 80% of Czech Republic laws coming from Brussels, the Senate does not want the Czech people to have their say in how Brussels governs them. The Czech people can show the...

Brussels, 6th May: The Lisbon Treaty has not yet been ratified in Germany or Poland. Ireland has rejected it  and President Klaus will have the final say in the Czech republic. The vote today merely shows that despite close to 80% of Czech Republic laws coming from Brussels, the Senate does not want the Czech people to have their say in how Brussels governs them. The Czech people can show the...