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The Czech Republic has abandoned its final
resistance to the ratification of the European Union's Lisbon Treaty.
This opens the door for E.U. member state leaders to select the bloc's
first president and foreign minister. But critics say the reforms are
already past their sell-by date.
The last hurdle has been surmounted. On Tuesday, after the Czech Republic's Constitutional Court rejected a complaint
submitted by 17 euroskeptic senators against the Lisbon Treaty, the
blueprint for reforming the European Union can now enter into force, as
planned, at the end of the year.
Likewise, Czech President Vaclav Klaus will no longer have any more
excuses for withholding his signature from the document. When he
finally signs it, as he is expected to do within the next few days, the
long process of ratifying the treaty will finally - after eight long
years - be at an end. At that point, Europe's leaders will be able to
take a large, collective sigh of relief. It's been a long, arduous
path, one that saw three failed referendums - in France, the
Netherlands and Ireland - and a number of complaints submitted to
various constitutional courts.
Even David Cameron, the leader of Britain's opposition
Conservatives, has given up his resistance. In the spring, if the
Tories retake the House of Commons, as they are widely expected to do,
they will not call for a retroactive referendum on the treaty. As
Cameron regretfully put it, by that time, the treaty will no longer be
just a treaty; it will be the equivalent of a European constitution.
Though his euroskeptic supporters will be very upset about the fact
that he broke a solemn vow, the fact is that Cameron saw no other
choice.
In the wake of the court's decision in Prague, there has been
widespread relief across the Continent. Freshly minted German Foreign
Minister Guido Westerwelle called it "a good day for Germans," adding
that it is "high time that we leave these discussions about internal
reform behind us." Even Jose Manuel Barroso, the president of the
European Commission, seems to be happy with things.
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