Tue, November 03, 2009
LONDON, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Britain Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Tuesday welcomed Czech President Vaclav Klaus' decision to sign the Lisbon Treaty.
Brown said: "Today is a day when Europe looks forward, when it sets aside years of debate on its institutions, and moves to take strong and collective action on the issues that matter most to European citizens: security, climate change, jobs and growth."
British Minister for Europe Chris Bryant also welcomed the news that the Czech constitutional court has ruled that the Lisbon Treaty is in line with the Czech constitution, which means that Czech Republic can now ratify the Lisbon Treaty.
Bryant said: "We welcome this morning's news that the Czech constitutional court has ruled that the Lisbon Treaty is in line with the constitution of the Czech Republic. There is now no obstacle to President Klaus completing Czech ratification, following the agreement reached at last week's European Council."
"The Treaty is good for Britain. We need the EU to be far more effective on the world stage and to be more efficient in the way it does business."
Britain's opposition Conservative Party leader David Cameron has admitted his party is unlikely to be able to hold a promised referendum on the Lisbon Treaty once it has become law, paving the way for a policy U-turn that will infuriate Tory Eurosceptics.
But the court's decision also puts pressure on former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to announce whether he is a candidate to be the first president of the EU council.
Blair has failed to get the backing of the French and German leaders though Brown and British Business Secretary Peter Mandelson support his candidacy.
There will be an extraordinary meeting of EU leaders in Brussels next week at which the new president is likely to be chosen.
Other possible contenders include Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, former Finnish Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen and Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker.
