Czech senate vote puts Lisbon treaty onus on Ireland
The senators voted 54 to 20, giving a clear margin over the 48 votes needed to pass the treaty, thanks to 12 members of the Euro-sceptic government party, the ODS supporting it, four abstaining and two who did not attend.
However, several politicians warned nobody should consider it a foregone conclusion the treaty would be brought into force, even with polls suggesting Irish voters would accept it in October.
Members of the Czech parliament opposed to the treaty have threatened to refer it to their constitutional court for a second time, an exercise that would take at least five months for the court to give its ruling. Euro-sceptic president Vaclav Klaus is believed to be legally obliged to sign it and the Polish president has said he will sign, if Ireland reverses its decision and votes for the treaty later this year.
The German Constitutional Court is considering arguments against the treaty by a German politician. It is expected to issue its judgment shortly and few expect it will reject the treaty.
But the great unspoken fear among many EU politicians was aired by Fine Gael’s Dublin MEP Gay Mitchell yesterday, when he warned that the fate of the treaty rested not just on the Irish vote, but on the British Labour Party remaining in power until after the vote is taken.
“Ireland is now in a bad situation in terms of our best interests,” he said, adding that Ireland needed the Lisbon Treaty to be passed and the Government should set a date for the referendum as soon as possible.
European Parliament president Hans-Gert Pottering warned that the union’s solidarity with Ireland would be lost if the people were to vote no again. “If Ireland was to say not to Lisbon again, then the solidarity that we are demanding of Ireland would be lost and I cannot imagine Ireland doing this in its own interests either”, he said.
