Czechs cast shadow over indecisive EU summit[fr][de] 

Speaking after the summit on 20 June, eurosceptic Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek expressed his satisfaction with the final wording of the Council's conclusions. 

"We were able, after lengthy discussions, to defend our autonomous position," he said, explaining that by removing just one word, 'the', and adding a footnote to the final joint declaration, the Czech Republic had scored a key success in difficult negotiations. 

Indeed, the communiqué now reads: "The European Council noted that the parliaments in 19 member states have ratified the Treaty and that the ratification process continues in other countries." A previous version had stated that ratification would continue "in the other countries," making it clearer that the seven other EU nations - including the Czech Republic - must go on with the process. 

The footnote adds: "The European Council noted that the Czech Republic cannot complete their ratification process until the Constitutional Court delivers its positive opinion on the accordance of the Lisbon Treaty with the Czech constitutional order." 

The court's decision is expected in September or October – with French President Nicolas Sarkozy hoping it will come in time for the next major EU summit, when Ireland will be expected to come forward with an innovative solution to take the EU forward following its rejection of the Lisbon Treaty. 

"Ireland is a problem, but if we have a second or third problem then it's really going to get difficult," Sarkozy said after the summit. 

The statement was also directed at the UK, where a high court judge is due to rule next week on whether it was legal for the country to ratify the treaty without a holding a referendum. 

Speaking after the summit, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown scared a few people by conceding that his government would not be able complete the ratification until it had heard the court's ruling. Sarkozy, whose country takes over the EU Presidency on 1 July, said discussing future scenarios with the Irish government would be one of his top priorities, with a trip to Dublin planned as early as 11 July. 

Backed by several other leaders, Sarkozy made clear that he would like to see the treaty enter into force before the next elections to the European Parliament in June 2009. His position was shared by liberal government leaders, who stressed that 1 April is the deadline for Ireland to approve the treaty in a possible second referendum. 

Irish Taoiseach Brian Cowen, however, reiterated that "there is no quick fix or easy solution on how the dilemma is to be solved". He was supported by his foreign minister, Micheal Martin, who said he did not expect any solution at the October summit, despite Commission President José Manuel Barroso's insistence on this being "the appropriate moment". 

However, Slovenian Prime Minister and Council President Janez Jansa also said raising pressure to fix a timeline for finding a solution to the crisis would be counterproductive. "Any perception of pressure could adversely affect the situation," he stated.