Czech social democrat party considers suspending President Vaclav Klaus’ powers over refusal to sign Lisbon Treaty

EU Observer reports that the Czech social democrat party is considering suspending President Vaclav Klaus’ powers if he refuses to sign the Lisbon Treaty. The article notes “temporary suspension would require a simple majority of 41 votes in the country’s 81-seat senate and would allow caretaker Prime Minister Jan Fischer to sign the document instead”. The Lisbon Treaty has been ratified by the Czech Parliament and Senate but its compatibility with the Czech Constitution is currently being analysed by the Czech Constitutional Court with a decision expected in September.

Klaus has vowed to be the last to sign the Treaty and will wait until Germany, Poland and Ireland have ratified it in the hope that the Conservatives may be elected in the UK by then. Former Constitutional Court judge Vojtech Cepl said “There is nothing in the constitution that gives the president the right to veto decisions of the country’s highest institutions.” However, senate press spokesman, Petr Kostka said “The probability is very low. It’s the opinion of just a few senators and not of the whole chamber. The president of the senate, Mr Premysl Sobotka [an ODS party member], has said he doesn’t agree with the suspension.”

source: EU Observer

Meanwhile Adrian Michaels in the Telegraph writes, “If democracy is about listening to the people, then Iran isn’t the only place where things have got a bit strained. A year ago, 53 per cent of Irish voters declined to ratify the substantial increase of the European Union’s powers and reach enshrined in the Lisbon Treaty. Yet in early October, the country will be holding another referendum, in which the people will be given a chance to come up with a better answer.”