Friday

29th Sep 2023

Sarkozy heads to Prague for emergency EU treaty talks

  • The Lisbon treaty was signed last December - but is already "a dead document," says the Czech president (Photo: Portuguese EU Presidency)

French president Nicolas Sarkozy will today (16 June) fly to Prague for emergency talks on the Lisbon Treaty with the prime ministers of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, with Czech president Vaclav Klaus declaring the treaty dead after the Irish No vote.

"The project is over in its entirety," Czech president Vaclav Klaus said after the rejection of the EU pact by Irish voters last week, AFP reports. "It makes no sense to continue the ratification of a dead document."

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

The Irish No vote represents a "victory for freedom and reason over artificial elitist projects and European bureaucracy," he added.

Mr Klaus' remarks come amid calls by the European Commission and some EU leaders – in particular French president Nicolas Sarkozy and German chancellor Angela Merkel – for the ratification process to continue in the remaining EU countries.

Czech prime minister Mirek Topolanek did not comment himself on whether or not his country should approve the document, admitting nevertheless that the Irish result was a "political complication."

The Czech Republic will take over the EU's rotating presidency from France on 1 January 2009.

So far, parliaments in 18 EU member states have approved the Lisbon treaty. The UK has also indicated it would proceed with the document's ratification.

Meanwhile, an adviser to Polish president Lech Kaczynski – who still has to complete Poland's ratification by signing the document – has said that Mr Kaczynski should know whether the Lisbon treaty exists before he goes forward.

"For now, there is a strong suggestion the treaty may have ceased to exist as it was rejected by one [EU] country," the presidential aide, Michal Kaminski, told Polish daily Rzeczpospolita.

The Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, is strongly pro-ratification, however. A TNS OBOP opinion poll over the weekend said 71 percent of Poles would back the treaty if there was a referendum in Poland.

German leader Angela Merkel will meet Mr Tusk in Gdansk today for a pre-arranged visit on Polish foreign policy plans for the union's eastern neighbours. The pair will also discuss the EU treaty conundrum.

Paris nervous

The Irish No vote has made Paris particularly nervous, as France is to take over the rotating EU presidency in two weeks' time.

Mr Sarkozy was quick to react to the referendum result saying ratification in the eight remaining countries should continue, "so that the Irish incident does not become a crisis."

For his part, Jean-Pierre Jouyet, French EU minister, told French weekly Journal du Dimanche on Sunday: "We have lost a few months in terms of the institutional blueprint, but we haven't lost any time as far as our plans [for the presidency] are concerned."

"You can count on the [French] president not to leave Europe malfunctioning," he added.

France has put forward an ambitious agenda for its six-month term at the EU's helm, with priorities including immigration, defence, and climate change.

Several analysts and commentators have said the result of the referendum in Ireland may put a brake on the country's far-reaching plans however, forcing it to focus on institutional issues instead.

Paris is counting on a "political agreement" at this week's EU summit (19 – 20 June) to maintain its presidency's agenda, Mr Jouyet said.

Opinion

How do you make embarrassing EU documents 'disappear'?

The EU Commission's new magic formula for avoiding scrutiny is simple. You declare the documents in question to be "short-lived correspondence for a preliminary exchange of views" and thus exempt them from being logged in the official inventory.

Column

Will Poles vote for the end of democracy?

International media must make clear that these are not fair, democratic elections. The flawed race should be the story at least as much as the race itself.

Latest News

  1. Added-value for Russia diamond ban, as G7 and EU prepare sanctions
  2. EU states to agree on asylum crisis bill, say EU officials
  3. Poland's culture of fear after three years of abortion 'ban'
  4. Time for a reset: EU regional funding needs overhauling
  5. Germany tightens police checks on Czech and Polish border
  6. EU Ombudsman warns of 'new normal' of crisis decision-making
  7. How do you make embarrassing EU documents 'disappear'?
  8. Resurgent Fico hopes for Slovak comeback at Saturday's election

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators, industry & healthcare experts at the 24th IMDRF session, September 25-26, Berlin. Register by 20 Sept to join in person or online.
  2. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  3. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  4. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators & industry experts at the 24th IMDRF session- Berlin September 25-26. Register early for discounted hotel rates
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  6. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  2. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  3. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
  6. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us