advertisement
Thu, Feb 09 2012
Klaus signs the Lisbon Treaty
Czech Republic president Vaclav Klaus speaks to the media after signing the Lisbon Treaty in Prague on November 3 2009.
The president of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus, has signed the EU's Lisbon Treaty, the final step in the charter's ratification.
Klaus' decision to ratify the Treaty came after the Czech Republic's constitutional court rejected a last minute legal challenge from a group of eurosceptic senators and ruled that the Lisbon Treaty does not violate the country's constitution. This was seen as the removal of the final obstacle standing in the way of Klaus's signature.
Klaus’s recalcitrance made the Czech Republic the last of the EU’s 27 member states to ratify the treaty, which will give the bloc a full-time president and a more powerful foreign policy chief which advocates insist will boost its standing on the world stage. Critics, on the other hand, say it will cede too many national powers to Brussels.
The treaty could now come into force as early as December.
Speaking in Washington ahead of an EU-US summit, the European Commission's Portuguese president Jose Manuel Barroso welcomed the removal of the "last hurdle" to the treaty's passage.
"I think that the transformational potential that is there, the new external profile for the European Union, will be felt immediately," he said.
Klaus' decision to ratify the Treaty came after the Czech Republic's constitutional court rejected a last minute legal challenge from a group of eurosceptic senators and ruled that the Lisbon Treaty does not violate the country's constitution. This was seen as the removal of the final obstacle standing in the way of Klaus's signature.
Klaus’s recalcitrance made the Czech Republic the last of the EU’s 27 member states to ratify the treaty, which will give the bloc a full-time president and a more powerful foreign policy chief which advocates insist will boost its standing on the world stage. Critics, on the other hand, say it will cede too many national powers to Brussels.
The treaty could now come into force as early as December.
Speaking in Washington ahead of an EU-US summit, the European Commission's Portuguese president Jose Manuel Barroso welcomed the removal of the "last hurdle" to the treaty's passage.
"I think that the transformational potential that is there, the new external profile for the European Union, will be felt immediately," he said.
-
Print
-
Send via email
- Translate to
-
Share:
Comments
To post comments, please, Login or Register.
Please read the The Sofia Echo forum comments policy.
Lisbon Treaty enters into force
Celebrations to be held in Lisbon to mark the coming into force on December 1 2009 of the Treaty that reshapes the workings of the European Union.
More in this category
Auction reveals Ceausescu’s personal age of plenty
Iranian silver-plated pigeons, African leopard skins and a Chinese bronze yak were among the 70 items sold in an auction of gifts presented to Romania’s former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena.
EC praises airports for progress in dealing with extreme weather
Airports were also showing signs of better co-ordination and providing passengers with accurate real-time information, compared to previous period of travel disruption, transport commissioner Siim Kallas said.
Hungary's PM condemns international critics amid economic uncertainty
Viktor Orban defends government's record, new constitution in state-of-the-nation address as he slams European Commission.
Polish PM, digitalisation minister hold public debates on ACTA ratification
PM Donald Tusk invited authors, NGOs, experts and bloggers to a debate on the ACTA copyright agreement, but several key organisations, including the Helsinki Foundation, rejected the invitation claiming that the talks will likely offer no opportunity to discuss concrete issues.
Protesters clash in Budapest as controversial theatre director takes stage
'Dirty Jews' and 'Dirty Nazis' were the most popular chants when two groups clashed in front of Új Színház (New Theatre)
© 2000-2012, Sofia Echo Media Ltd.
Web Design by RIZN
Sofia Echo Media is part of the Economedia Group.
The news and information content on this website is provided by our editorial team and is copyrighted.
Any unauthorised reproduction or use of it is strictly forbidden. Reproduction of this website's content is permitted only
with prior written permission from the Editor-in-Chief, should be propertly acredited and provide an active link back to our site.
Comments posted by the website's visitors are independent of the editorial materials and do not represent the views of sofiaecho.com.
Sofia Echo Media cannot be held responsible for the statements contained in visitor comments.
The percentаge change in the shares' prices are based on the price of the last transaction of the current session compared to the
price of the last transaction of the previous session. Bulgarian Stock Exchange data is not real-time, but updated every 15 minutes,
and should not be used as a basis for decisions about buying or selling stock options.
- Economedia Group portfolio:
- In Bulgarian:
-
Business:
Капитал,
Кариери,
Пазари,
Ho Re Mag,
Регал,
Градът.bg,
Одит,
Foton.bg,
Online shop
- News: Дневник, Европа, Foreign Policy - България
- IT: IDG.BG, Computerworld, PC World, CIO, Networkworld
- Entertainment: Бакхус
-
In English:
The Sofia Echo
I don't think Pan Klaus looks very happy, but at least there wasn't another Defenestration of Prague !
Roll on Lisbon, the extension of Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) and the removal of national vetos !
This comment has been removed by the moderator because it contained foul, abusive or discriminating language
finally the treaty has been signed