EU Constitution, Meet Bus

Czech PM's party may trade Lisbon treaty for U.S. base
Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek (Civic Democrats, ODS) said today he cannot imagine ODS lawmakers supporting the Lisbon treaty unless parliament passes the Czech-U.S. treaty on stationing a U.S. radar base on Czech soil.

"It is hypothetical. In view of that the ODS group (of deputies) has 81 members and I think that I know opinions of most of them, it is very difficult for me to imagine that the deputies, or ODS senators, would vote for the Lisbon treaty if the ratification of the treaty with the United States failed," Topolánek said on Radio Cesko.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Czech counterpart, Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, signed the main treaty on stationing the radar base on Czech soil in Prague on Tuesday.

Topolánek said "It is not entirely acceptable to connect it like this. But for the deputies who can make a free choice, it can be a certain aspect that will play a role in the decision-making."

To take effect, the treaty must be ratified by Czech parliament and signed by the president.

And President Vaclav Klaus has said that he is ready "without any hesitation" to sign the treaty

Support for it particularly in the lower house is, however, uncertain. It is rejected by the opposition and also by some government Green Party deputies.

Treaty opponents are claiming "that the US anti-missile defence shield in Europe is likely to be abandoned by the next American administration". If Barack [deleted] Obama is elected POTUS, he may very well do just that.

But be very careful of what you wish for. Barry O could also decide that it's time for Europe to take care of Europe and bring all American forces home. But what about NATO you whine? Surrender Monkey Logic says that the need for NATO ended when the Berlin Wall came down. After all the NATO treaty is . . . just words . . . .

The Lisbon treaty, which Topolánek signed for the Czech Republic, is opposed by some deputies from his party, the ODS. It was on their initiative that the Senate sent the treaty to the Constitutional Court to check whether it is in harmony with the Czech Constitution.

Via ČeskéNoviny