Thursday

30th Mar 2023

Czech decision on Lisbon treaty only after EU summit

  • The astronomical clock in Prague - the EU summit has run out of time to make the new appointments (Photo: Wikipedia)

The Czech constitutional court has indicated it will rule on whether the Lisbon Treaty is compatible with Czech national law next week, meaning EU leaders meeting in Brussels on Thursday (29 October) are unlikely to take a final decision on dividing the top jobs in the European Union.

Following a hearing on Tuesday on a legal challenge by 17 conservative senators, the court said it would reconvene on 3 November, when it is likely to give its verdict.

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 decision leaves the EU summit to take place amid continued uncertainty about when and whether the Union will be able to make the switch to the Lisbon Treaty - a move that creates new EU president and foreign minister posts and determines the future shape of the European Commission, whose current mandate expires on Saturday.

All member states have approved the treaty except the Czech Republic whose president Vaclav Klaus has said he will not complete ratification until the court has had its say.

The Swedish EU presidency, which has been hoping for a decisive names-for-posts summit so it can concentrate on policy issues instead, said it needs clarity from Prague first.

"We cannot begin the consultations [on the names] until we have legal clarity. If we obtain legal clarity, then there is time for consultations and a first debate," said Swedish Europe minister Cecilia Malmstrom on Monday, with the momentum for a decision growing since Luxembourg leader Jean-Claude Juncker indicated he would like to be chosen as first occupant of the European Council president post.

These decisions may be put off to an extra summit in November.

Czech demands

Instead this week's traditional autumn summit of EU leaders will have to deal with the minutiae of an eleventh hour call by President Klaus for his country to be exempted from the rights charter contained in the Lisbon Treaty.

Mr Klaus made the surprise demand earlier this month arguing that adoption of the Charter would leave his country open to property demands by ethnic Germans expelled from Czechoslovakia under the so-called Benes Decrees after World War II.

The Czech move prompted Slovakia to say they would veto any solution for Prague if they do not get the same treatment.

"Even though the Benes Decrees aren't in use in practice and can't be used, they are part of the legal system of the Czech Republic and Slovakia ...and the legal protection for Slovakia and its public can't be lower than is the case in the Czech Republic," said Slovak foreign minister Miroslav Lajcak on Monday.

The Slovak stance then led to a retaliatory statement from Hungary. Budapest has cool relations with Bratislava following a 2007 decision by the country to reaffirm the Benes Decrees, which also led to the expulsion of Hungarians from the then Czechoslovakia. Relations are also strained over Bratislava's treatment of the ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia.

Hungarian foreign minister Peter Balazs threatened to block the Czech compromise if there is "one word about the Benes Decrees."

Mr Balazs' spokesperson told EUobserver that the country has four demands, including that the Czech text "should not have any reference to the past or any reference to national legislation ...and it should only concern the member state where ratification is still ongoing."

For its part the Czech government indicated the proposed solution will be as bland as possible. Czech Europe minister Stefan Fuele said Monday that the "Benes decrees" will not be mentioned in the opt-out text. "In our proposal we will not refer to any concrete part of our legislation," Mr Fuele said, according to Ceske Noviny.

He indicated that a possible solution would be to simply add the name of the country alongside Poland and the UK which are also exempt from the Charter of Fundamental Rights, but for different reasons.

The discussions on the Czech opt out which are set to run into the summit are taking place even though most analysts agree the charter will not lead to the property claims Mr Klaus says he fears.

Opinion

The overlooked 'crimes against children' ICC arrest warrant

An unprecedented component of this announcement has received less attention: the ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, Putin's commissioner for children's rights. Lvova-Belova is accused of deporting and unlawful transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia.

EU approves 2035 phaseout of polluting cars and vans

The agreement will ban the sale of carbon-emitting cars after 2035. The EU Commission will present a proposal for e-fuels after pressure from German negotiators via a delegated act, which can still be rejected by the EU Parliament.

Column

What does China really want? Perhaps we could try asking

Perhaps even more surprising to the West was the fact that the Iran-Saudi Arabia deal was not brokered by the United States, or the European Union, but by the People's Republic of China. Since when was China mediating peace agreements?

Opinion

Dear EU, the science is clear: burning wood for energy is bad

The EU and the bioenergy industry claim trees cut for energy will regrow, eventually removing extra CO2 from the atmosphere. But regrowth is not certain, and takes time, decades or longer. In the meantime, burning wood makes climate change worse.

Opinion

The overlooked 'crimes against children' ICC arrest warrant

An unprecedented component of this announcement has received less attention: the ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, Putin's commissioner for children's rights. Lvova-Belova is accused of deporting and unlawful transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia.

Column

What does China really want? Perhaps we could try asking

Perhaps even more surprising to the West was the fact that the Iran-Saudi Arabia deal was not brokered by the United States, or the European Union, but by the People's Republic of China. Since when was China mediating peace agreements?

Latest News

  1. Work insecurity: the high cost of ultra-fast grocery deliveries
  2. The overlooked 'crimes against children' ICC arrest warrant
  3. EU approves 2035 phaseout of polluting cars and vans
  4. New measures to shield the EU against money laundering
  5. What does China really want? Perhaps we could try asking
  6. Dear EU, the science is clear: burning wood for energy is bad
  7. Biden's 'democracy summit' poses questions for EU identity
  8. Finnish elections and Hungary's Nato vote in focus This WEEK

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. InformaConnecting Expert Industry-Leaders, Top Suppliers, and Inquiring Buyers all in one space - visit Battery Show Europe.
  2. EFBWWEFBWW and FIEC do not agree to any exemptions to mandatory prior notifications in construction
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: The Nordics are ready to push for gender equality

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Azerbaijan Embassy9th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and 1st Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting
  2. EFBWWEU Social Dialogue review – publication of the European Commission package and joint statement of ETUFs
  3. Oxfam InternationalPan Africa Program Progress Report 2022 - Post Covid and Beyond
  4. WWFWWF Living Planet Report
  5. Europan Patent OfficeHydrogen patents for a clean energy future: A global trend analysis of innovation along hydrogen value chains

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us