Czech government says Irish Lisbon treaty opt-out needs three-fifth majority to pass

To be approved by the Czech Parliament, an Irish opt-out from the EU’s Lisbon treaty will require a three-fifth majority in both chambers, the Czech government said on Wednesday. The cabinet adopted the view that the opt-out from judicial and home affairs coordination complemented the European Union’s primary law, and as such needed to be approved by the so-called constitutional majority of lawmakers. Czech MPs and Senators may however choose to follow a different procedure in voting on the opt-out, the CTK news agency said.

Author: Jan Richter