German court clears hurdle for EU's Lisbon Treaty

Germany's highest court yesterday ruled that the European Union's Lisbon reform Treaty was compatible with national law, but demanded changes to domestic legislation before the Treaty can be formally ratified.

The decision by the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe removes one of several remaining hurdles for the Treaty, which aims to give the bloc stronger leadership, a more effective foreign policy and a fairer decision-making system.

All 27 member states must ratify the Lisbon Treaty for it to take effect.

"To sum up, the Basic Law says 'yes' to the Lisbon Treaty but demands a strengthening of Parliamentary responsibilities at the national level," presiding judge Andreas Vosskuhle said, referring to Germany's post-war constitution. "The Court is confident that the final hurdle before ratification will be cleared quickly."

The Lisbon Treaty is a watered-down version of the EU Constitution that was vetoed by French and Dutch voters in 2005.

The new document was dealt a heavy blow one year ago when Irish voters rejected it in a referendum.

Ireland is due to vote again in early October after winning assurances from EU partners that the treaty will not threaten Irish stances on abortion, taxation and military neutrality.

The German legal challenge came from more than 50 deputies in the Bundestag lower house of Parliament, among them members of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc and the far-left Linke, or Left party.

Maverick conservative Peter Gauweiler from the Bavarian Christian Social Union led the fight against Lisbon, arguing it would allow EU leaders to circumvent their national Parliaments and push decisions through in Brussels instead.

In a nod to those concerns, the court said an appendix to the law that was approved by the lower and upper houses of Parliament last year, paving the way for ratification, must be altered before President Horst Koehler can sign off on it.

Specifically, the court said the appendix needed to make clear that both houses, the Bundestag and Bundesrat, had a role to play in shaping decisions taken in Brussels.

Norbert Roettgen, Parliamentary floor leader for Ms Merkel's conservatives, said the ruling parties planned to agree the required changes by early September. The Bundestag lower house could then vote on the draft law on September 8, he said.

The core complaint from the rebel lawmakers - that the Lisbon treaty violated German law - was rejected. Had the court upheld that complaint, it would have plunged the EU into a new institutional crisis and possibly doomed the treaty for good.

In addition to the Irish vote, the treaty faces other hurdles. Euro-sceptic presidents in the Czech Republic and Poland have refused to rubber-stamp the treaty pending the result of the second Irish referendum.

The Conservatives in Britain also want a referendum and may seek to reverse Parliamentary ratification of the treaty if, as expected, they win a national election due within a year.

The EU is racing to get the treaty ratified by all 27 members by the end of the year to prevent such a move.

Who has yet to ratify the reform Treaty?

Ireland: Irish voters rejected the Treaty in a referendum on June 12, 2008, with 53.4 per cent voting against and 46.6 per cent voting in favour. Ireland was the only member state that put the pact to the public in a referendum. Ireland has since won assurances from EU partners that its sovereignty on issues like taxation, military neutrality and abortion will not be affected by the treaty and plans to hold a second referendum in early October.

Czech Republic: The Czech upper and lower houses have already approved the Treaty. But ratification must be completed by President Vaclav Klaus, who has said he will wait until all other EU countries have ratified the treaty before signing.

Germany: Both German houses of Parliament have approved the Lisbon Treaty, but Germany's Constitutional Court has demanded changes to domestic legislation before President Horst Koehler can complete the ratification process.

Berlin's coalition government plans to finalise the changes in early September.

Poland: Both chambers of parliament approved the Treaty in April 2008. However, President Lech Kaczynski has yet to sign the Treaty in the final part of the ratification process and has said he will only sign it into law when Ireland approves it.