Czech-Mate?

When Ireland said 'yes' to the Reform Treaty last week, there was jubilation in Brussels. Finally, the last member state that had shot it down was now behind it. Implementation must be close. As Alex said in his blog, Poland and the Czech Republic have to ratify the Treaty. Poland, last saturday, signed the treaty and celebrated the occasion with a lovely ceremony. One down, one to go.

The Czechs are bound to sign it. Wrong.

The Czech President, Vaclav Klaus, the notorious Eurosceptic, is delaying the process as much as he possible can. Afraid of what might happen, Klaus has added in a footnote about Property Rights to the treaty. He wants Germans to give up any right to property in Czech territories; rights that have been there since the formation of the Czech Republic after the War. One would think that this tactic should have been brought up in negotiations, but Klaus is fighting for dear life to delay the treaty.

Why?

First, he is afraid of a more powerful Europe. Secondly, it can be argued that he is waiting for the British elections of 2010. David Cameron has come out and said that if elected, he will put the Reform Treaty to a referendum, and I think that if this were to happen, it would be voted down, thus delaying the Reform Treaty once more. That said, I think that David Cameron is only saying this to gain support from the eurosceptic Tories, and he hopes that the Reform Treaty will be ratified by all 27 member states before the election.

Either way, Klaus' decision to add the footnote is hindering the EU's implementation of the Lisbon Treaty, and shows the difficulties in getting 27 culturally, historically and ideologically different countries to agree on a treaty that affects them all.

What is the EU going to do to get Klaus on their side and to sign his name onto the treaty...?