EU leaders await word on Lisbon Treaty at summit

EU leaders are hoping for good news from Prague on the Lisbon Treaty at their summit this evening, but are facing a furious Poland threatening to scupper a deal on global warming over how much they should pay to help developing countries cope with climate change.

All eyes will be on the Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer tonight when he attends the two-day meeting in Brussels. Member states are hoping that he and the Swedish presidency will be able to confirm that they have reached agreement with Czech President Vaclav Klaus on the Czech opt-out from the Charter of Fundamental Rights. This will mean there is just one more hurdle before the Lisbon Treaty can finally be adopted — a ruling from the Czech Constitutional Court expected next Tuesday.

However, diplomats were warning yesterday that EU leaders are unlikely to agree to the wording of the Czech opt-out without a guarantee that the wily Klaus will sign the treaty once cleared by the court. The court is widely expected to do so as it has already ruled the treaty does not contravene the Czech Constitution but it is now considering fresh objections from a number of senators and from Klaus.