Czech President Vaclav Klaus is still opposed to the Lisbon treaty's further ratification after meeting with government ministers on Tuesday, Presidential Office head Jiri Weigl said.
Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Alexandr Vondra and Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg attended the meeting, concerning Prague's foreign policy and preparations for EU presidency, which was held at the presidential chateau in Lany.
Weigl said Klaus's view of the Lisbon treaty has been "long-lasting and permanent."
"The opinions of the president and of the cabinet members who attended (the meeting) today, profoundly differ as far as the Lisbon treaty is concerned," Weigl said.
Earlier this year, the Czech Senate, acting on the ODS's initiative, asked the Constitutional Court to assess whether the Lisbon treaty is compatible with the Czech legal order.
Schwarzenberg said that after the court completes the assessment, the Czech parliament should approve the treaty.
"I'm of the view that we should do it," Schwarzenberg said.
Constitutional Court chairman Pavel Rychetsky recently said the court might declare its decision in September.
Klaus, whose country will hold the EU presidency in the first half of 2009, was the EU's only senior politician to explicitly welcome the Irish "no" in June, while other countries' leaders suggested that the ratification process should continue.
The Lisbon Treaty replaces the EU constitution treaty that was rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005.
Several weeks ago, the treaty was rejected by Irish voters again, but EU leaders have been calling for a continuation of the ratification process in other EU countries.
To take effect, the treaty needs approval from all the 27 EU countries.
Source:Xinhua
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