European Union

Lisbon treaty decision pushed back to October

Article published on the 2008-06-20 Latest update 2008-06-20 12:37 TU

Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen (L) and President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso.
(Photo : Reuters)

EU leaders will postpone a final decision on the fate of the Lisbon treaty to the next EU summit in October, according to a draft statement released Friday at a two-day summit in Brussels. After Irish voters rejected the treaty, its future remains in doubt as unanimity is required for it to pass into force.

The draft statement could still be modified before it is formally released later Friday, but European leaders said that more time would be needed to analyse the situation before a strategy on how to proceed could be determined.

Seven countries still have not ratified the treaty and are unsure whether they will push ahead with the process, despite the fact that French President Nicolas Sarkozy has encouraged them to do so. Sarkozy went so far as to suggest on Friday morning that no EU expansion would be possible unless the treaty passed.

Britain ratified the treaty on Thursday morning, showing its determination to push ahead with European integration. The Czech Republic is reluctant to do so after its president, Vaclav Klaus, said that the treaty was dead following the Irish ‘no’.

The ratification process remains stalled in the Czech Republic after the Senate referred the question to the constitutional court, which has yet to rule on the matter.