Klaus wird den Lissabon-Vertrag voraussichtlich in den nächsten Tagen unterzeichnen[en][fr] 

After the resounding Irish 'yes' to the text (EurActiv 03/10/09), Poland also ratified the EU's reform treaty, leaving the Czech Republic as the only country not to have fully completed the ratification procedure. The country's Eurosceptic president, Václav Klaus, orchestrated a second challenge to the conformity of the Lisbon Treaty with the Czech constitution when a group of Czech senators loyal to him lodged a complaint earlier this autumn (EurActiv 30/09/09). 

Just prior to this, UK Conservative leader David Cameron had announced he would call a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty if it is not fully ratified by the time the Tories come to power. The British press believes this could happen by May 2010 (EurActiv 24/09/09). However, the Tories now say they may not be able to hold a referendum on the treaty now that Václav Klaus has dropped his opposition to signing the text (EurActiv 03/11/09). 

During the EU summit last week, Klaus gave assurances to the Swedish EU Presidency that he would sign the ratification without undue delay if the constitutional court were to give its green light (EurActiv 30/10/09). 

The government source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the court's decision - Klaus's last condition for signing the treaty - removed the only remaining obstacle for him to sign it into law and complete EU-wide ratification. 

In its ruling , the court rejected all the complaints filed in September by a group of eurosceptic senators loyal to Czech President Václav Klaus. In a press release, the court announced its judgement had been unanimous, and "none of the judges filed a dissenting opinion to either the judgement or its reasoning". 

According to EurActiv.cz , Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer welcomed the announcement and expects President Klaus to sign the Treaty "as soon as possible," his spokesman Roman Prorok explained. 

The court's approval - Klaus's last condition for signing the document following concessions granted to him at a Brussels summit last week (EurActiv 30/10/09) - should mean that the Lisbon Treaty can enter into force as early as 1 December 2009. New treaties enter into force on the first day of the month after they are deposited in Rome. 

Lisbon is the successor to the EU's failed Constitutional Treaty, and is seen by most EU leaders as essential for improving the efficiency of decision-making in the enlarged 27-member Union. It has been eight years in the making since EU leaders first debated its proposed reforms at the December 2001 Laeken summit. 

According to Czech news agency CTK, the senators again plan to challenge the court's decision. Indeed, the complainants' representative, senator Jiri Oberfalzer (ODS), had previously indicated that they might turn to European courts. 

However, Czech sources indicated that this potential last throw of the dice by the senators had been exaggerated by the media, and even if the senators did file a complain in Strasbourg, this would only affect the Czech Constitutional Court and not the legality of the Lisbon Treaty.

(With additional reporting by EurActiv.cz)

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso said he was "extremely pleased that the Czech Constitutional Court has cleared the way for the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty by the Czech Republic. Together with the commitments given by all member states to the Czech government at the European Council last week, I believe that no further unnecessary delays should prevent the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty". 

He added: "I hope that we can now move forward as quickly as possible on the nomination of the president of the European Council and vice-president of the Commission/High Representative. After this, and when I have received the complete list of candidates for the next Commission, I can proceed with its formation." 

Swedish Prime Minister  and current EU Council chair Fredrik Reinfeldt said: "I welcome the court's decision and that we have legal clarity on the Lisbon Treaty. We are now very close to full ratification," adding that once there has been "a signature in the Czech Republic, the presidency will continue the completion of Lisbon Treaty preparations".

The Czech Constitutional Court stated that "this judgment refutes the doubts concerning the consistency of the Treaty of Lisbon with the Czech constitutional order, and removes the formal obstacles to its ratification".