Word: klause
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...Lisbon Treaty and a new constitutional settlement for the European Union was decisive. It seems highly likely that Poland and the Czech Republic, the two holdouts in the process of ratifying the new treaty, will fall into line soon, however much it may pain Czech President Vaclav Klaus, the Saint-Just of Euroskepticism, to sign the document. By the beginning of next year, new institutional arrangements for the E.U. will be in place...
...Read "Vaclav Klaus: The Man with the E.U.'s Fate in His Hands...
...Because both houses of the Czech parliament have endorsed the treaty, Klaus is constitutionally bound to sign it. But he could delay that until his last day in office, four years from now. In theory, the president could face impeachment for refusing to sign. But both Klaus and his Bene? complaint have broad popular backing, and the country's technocratic government is trying to negotiate a settlement with the other E.U. member states...
...Across the E.U., officials are split on how to handle Klaus. Last week, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso called on Klaus not to raise "artificial obstacles" to the treaty, adding that since he had been elected president by the Czech parliament, he should "respect its views." Some talk darkly of punishing the Czech Republic, for example, by denying the country a seat in the next European Commission. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has warned of "consequences" if Klaus does not sign. But this could make a martyr of Klaus and stiffen his resolve. Others say the Lisbon Treaty...
...officials who are most worried about time, not Klaus. The likely next British Prime Minister, the Conservative Party's David Cameron, says he will hold a referendum on the treaty if it is not ratified by all 27 E.U. member states before the next U.K. elections, due by June 2010. "Klaus is just looking for another pretext to let the ratification linger until British elections," says Sara Pini, who heads the Brussels office of the Robert Schuman Foundation think tank. "No one can compel him to sign, but the E.U. could give him a reason to. This could...