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Current AffairsPresident Klaus signs Lisbon treaty

After months of fierce opposition, Czech President Václav Klaus on Tuesday gave in to mounting pressure and signed the Lisbon treaty, just hours after the country’s Constitutional Court ruled that it was fully in line with Czech law. His signature concludes the treaty’s full ratification by the EU, opening the way to extensive reforms within the 27-member alliance. More

Current AffairsRespekt’s Jan Macháček: ratification delay has hurt the Czech Republic

The president’s unexpected last-minute demand and the delays surrounding the Lisbon treaty’s ratification in the Czech Republic have not gone down well in Brussels and where many now see the Czech Republic as a troublemaker. Will Tuesday’s verdict finally send out the right signal? A question for Jan Macháček, commentator for the weekly Respekt.  More

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Current AffairsAll clear for Lisbon ratification?

After months of fierce opposition to the Lisbon treaty Czech President Václav Klaus has finally expressed readiness to sign the EUs reform document. In a statement issued shortly after EU leaders granted the Czech Republic an opt-out from the Charter of Fundamental rights on Friday Mr. Klaus said he would raise no further conditions for the document’s ratification. So is the way now clear for Lisbon?  More

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Current AffairsEU leaders agree on charter exemption for Czech Republic

The Lisbon treaty is a hair’s breadth away from ratification after EU leaders on Thursday agreed on an opt-out for the Czech Republic to the treaty’s charter of fundamental rights. Czech President Václav Klaus, the document’s most vocal opponent, had made clear he would only sign if such a guarantee was provided.  More

Current AffairsOpt-out granted, but not all share Klaus fears over Sudeten Germans

President Václav Klaus said he wanted an opt-out from the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights to shield Czech courts from European law, mentioning in particular the prospect of property claims from Sudeten Germans – ethnic Germans who were expelled en masse from what was then Czechoslovakia after the war. But not everyone in the Czech Republic shares Mr Klaus’s concerns, in fact some organisations highlight the country’s German heritage as a positive thing. Rob Cameron visited the former Sudeten city of Ústí nad Labem, and spoke to Ondřej Matějka from the NGO Anti-Komplex.  More