German court backs Lisbon

Germany's highest court ruled today that the Lisbon Treaty was compatible with German law, but demanded changes to domestic legislation before the treaty can be formally ratified.

The decision by the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe removes a hurdle for the treaty, which aims to give the bloc stronger leadership, a more effective foreign policy and a fairer decision-making system.

"To sum up, the Basic Law says 'yes' to the Lisbon Treaty but demands a strengthening of parliamentary responsibilities at the national level," presiding judge Andreas Vosskuhle said. The German legal challenge came from more than 50 deputies in the Bundestag lower house of parliament, among them members of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc and the far-left "Linke", or Left party.

Conservative Peter Gauweiler from the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) led the fight against Lisbon, arguing it would allow EU leaders to circumvent their national parliaments and push decisions through in Brussels instead.

Had the court upheld the complaints, it would have plunged the EU into a new institutional crisis and possibly doomed the treaty for good.

All 27 member states must ratify the Lisbon treaty for it to take effect. A second referendum is being held in Ireland in October after it was rejected last year by voters. The Government has since secured a number of guarantees on abortion, taxation and military neutrality.

The Lisbon treaty is a watered-down version of the EU constitution that was vetoed by French and Dutch voters in 2005. Euro-sceptic presidents in the Czech Republic and Poland have refused to rubber-stamp the treaty pending the result of the second Irish referendum.

Reuters