Czech president refers Lisbon Treaty to court

Vaclav Klaus, the Czech president, has threatened to derail attempts to see the controversial Lisbon Treaty take effect before the end of the year.

Supported by 17 Czech senators, Mr Klaus, a critic of the treaty, plans to refer the document to his country's constitutional court at the start of August.

In seeking a ruling on whether the treaty complies with the Czech constitution, Mr Klaus would be able to delay signing the treaty into Czech law until the court had given its verdict.

That could thwart the ambitions of Sweden, current holder of the EU's rotating presidency, to see the Treaty's provisions pushed through before the end of the year if Ireland votes to approve the treaty in its Oct 2 referendum. More