Czech leader raises Lisbon obstacle

CZECH President Vaclav Klaus raised a new obstacle to the European Union’s Lisbon reform treaty yesterday, telling EU president Sweden he wants a footnote added to the document before signing it into force.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski will sign the treaty tomorrow, an aide said, leaving Klaus as the only EU state leader holding out against ratifying the treaty to give the 27-nation bloc more influence in world affairs

The treaty’s backers say failure to secure Klaus’s signature would plunge the EU into crisis, potentially paralysing the bloc as it tackles a deep economic crisis and power shifts toward China and other emerging powers.