THE TELEGRAPH: The Lisbon Treaty has taken another step towards becoming law across Europe after the Czech president, Vaclav Klaus, effectively abandoned his attempts to stall it.
Mr Klaus, the sole remaining leader in the European Union not to have signed the document, conceded that despite his personal opposition to the treaty, it was now too late to stop it.
He also dismisssed speculation that he would try to hold off formally signing the document after the forthcoming British general election next year. Such a move would pave the way for a future Conservative government to hold a referendum on the treaty, which could derail the entire plan if it delivered a "No" vote. But Mr Klaus said: "I will not and cannot wait for the British election. They would have to hold it in the coming days or weeks."
In an interview with Czech newspaper Lidove Noviny, he added: "I do not consider the Lisbon Treaty to be a good thing for Europe, for the freedom of Europe, or for the Czech Republic.
"However, the train has already travelled so fast and so far that I guess it will not be possible to stop it or turn it around, however much we would wish to."
Mr Klaus, an admirer of Margaret Thatcher, had won plaudits from fellow Eurosceptics for his staunch criticisms of the treaty, which he fears will usher in a European federal state that will curb the sovereign rights of smaller countries like the Czech Republic.
In past speeches, he has drawn comparisons between post-Lisbon Europe and the grim life of Czechs during Soviet rule, likening distant diktats from Brussels to those from Communist apparatchiks in Moscow. >>> Colin Freeman | Saturday, October 17, 2009
