FINALLY THE road ran out yesterday for the opponents of the Lisbon Treaty, notably the Czech Republic’s Eurosceptic president Vaclav Klaus who became the 27th head of state to sign off on it, however reluctantly. The unanimous rejection by the Czech constitutional court of the last potential legal impediment to ratification was quickly followed by the president’s assent, and the depositing in Rome of the instrument of ratification within days will see the treaty come into force probably in early December. But next week the European Council and commission president will separately be able to begin the immediate tasks of filling the new jobs of president of the council and high representative for foreign and security policy, and of allocating tasks to a new commission team.
The court found the treaty compatible with the Czech constitution, rejecting some objections on procedural grounds, and others because they were already the basis of a ruling by the same court on the same treaty in November last year. Among complaints explicitly rejected was an argument that the Irish guarantees materially changed the treaty.
The welcome ratification of the treaty comes after an exhausting and damaging internal institutional debate over seven years that provoked painful domestic difficulties in several members states, Ireland included, and an unresolved crisis of legitimacy throughout the EU. The debate on an unwieldy, largely unreadable treaty, albeit democratising and essential to streamlining the workings of the institutions, did little to dispel perceptions of the EU as an elite project. And it severely hampered policy initiatives at a time when issues like global warming and the economic crisis cried out for coherent, common action.
The trauma of the Lisbon campaign may be behind us, but its legacy in the continuing alienation of citizens will remain a key challenge for all Europe’s leaders.
Meanwhile, Britain’s Tories also indicated yesterday they will this week clarify their position on the party’s long-standing campaign for a referendum on the treaty. Party leader David Cameron is reported to be ready to acknowledge that, with ratification a fait accompli, the issue is now moot. He told reporters yesterday: “It looks like this treaty is no longer going to be a treaty, it is going to become part of European law and that will create a new situation”.
His belated reconciliation to the treaty, however, does not mean that in government he will let the matter of the British-EU relationship rest. The Tories remain committed to repatriating substantial powers from Brussels and are likely to want to use the Croatian accession treaty, already seen as a vehicle for the Irish guarantees and the Czech opt-out, to seek specific opt-outs for the UK from social policy provisions of EU law.
Sadly, it seems, even before the ink is dry on Lisbon, the promise that its enactment should put an end to constitutional/institutional wrangling in the EU for a generation appears wishful thinking. Not a happy prospect.