Czech government meets ahead of EU summit

The Czech government met to debate the country’s position and review its mandate ahead of an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday. The Czech Republic will be the only remaining EU member not to have concluded ratification of the Lisbon treaty and EU leaders are expected to decide whether or not to give the Czech Republic an opt-out from the Charter of Fundamental Rights, as requested by President Klaus. There have been indications that the EU might be willing to consider this option in return for a guarantee that the Eurosceptic Czech president would then sign the treaty without further delay, but not all EU members are in favor of such a move.

Matters have been further complicated by the fact that the Czech Constitutional Court on Tuesday postponed by a week a final verdict on whether the EU’s Lisbon treaty is in line with Czech law.