Speaking on Wednesday (7 October), Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer said there was "no reason for anxiety in Europe" and that he was confident the text would be ratified by the end of 2009.
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, who currently heads the EU Council, had arranged an informal meeting in Brussels following Ireland's overwhelming approval of the treaty by referendum last Friday (EurActiv 03/10/09).
It was hoped the meeting would provide a clearer timetable as to when the Czech Republic might sign the treaty into law.
Reinfeldt was due to meet European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, European Parliament President Jerzey Buzek and Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer in Brussels yesterday.
However, events took a surprising turn when Fischer's plane could not take off in Prague due to unspecified "technical difficulties," prompting frantic action by Swedish officials to organise an 11th hour video conference between Brussels and Prague.
Privately, Swedish officials were scathing of the Czech leader's failure to find an alternative way to get to Brussels, though they did succeed in having Fischer participate in a press conference via audio link-up. Fischer immediately set out to quell fears that all lines of communication between him and maverick Czech Eurosceptic President Václav Klaus had broken down.
There is "smooth and regular" communication between the two men, Fischer assured leaders. However, it appears that Klaus is less willing to speak to EU Council President Reinfeldt, who admitted that the Czech president had thus far declined to accept the Swedish prime minister's calls following the Irish 'yes'.
Reinfeldt, Barroso and Buzek went to great pains to stress that patience was required to allow the Czechs ratify the treaty according to their own constitutional timeframe. Responding to suggestions that the Brussels meeting was called to pressure the Czechs, Buzek said that while it was important not to exert undue influence, it was well within the EU's rights to make clear "how costly it is to delay this procedure".
The point was echoed by Reinfeldt, who said that until he had a clearer picture from the Czechs, he could not the start the consultations about the new 'top jobs' created by the treaty.
However, Guy Verhofstadt, president of the ALDE group in the European Parliament and himself rumoured to be a candidate for the new 'top job' of EU Council president, disagreed with Reinfeldt's wait-and-see approach, arguing that "we cannot sit on our hands and wait for President Klaus to sign the instruments of ratification. The Commission's term of office is coming to an end and we must ensure that its successor is soon in place".
Czech ratification timetable by next week?
Despite the growing discord in Brussels, Fischer maintained a positive tone, saying that the Czech Constitutional Court had agreed to review the case much more quickly than usual, and that he thought the court would announce the date of its final decision next week.
He went on to say that, based on his contact with Klaus, he was "fully convinced" that the Czech president would sign the treaty into law as soon as the court had approved it.
"There is no reason for anxiety in Europe," he argued, adding that he was very confident the treaty would be in place before the end of 2009. However, Reinfeldt sounded a warning that the EU was "moving into unknown territory" until the institutional impasse is resolved.
