Czech ruling party asks court to rule on EU treaty

...constitution, Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said on Saturday.

The right-wing party's executive council agreed it was necessary to find out whether the charter of fundamental rights, which is part of the deal, is in line with the Czech law.

"The executive council considers it to be desirable during the ratification process to submit the reform treaty to the Constitutional Court for evaluation," Topolanek said.

EU leaders clinched an agreement on the treaty at the Lisbon summit on Friday, ending a crisis that has gripped the bloc since French and Dutch voters rejected a constitution in 2005.

If ratified by all 27 member states, the treaty would come into force in 2009, giving the bloc a long-term president, a stronger foreign policy chief, a more democratic decision-making system and more say for the European and national parliaments.

The ODS, founded by eurosceptic President Vaclav Klaus, resists further European integration, although its course under Topolanek has been more moderate than under Klaus.

Topolanek said the party also discussed whether the treaty should be ratified in a referendum or by parliament. Topolanek said the issue remained open but he was in favour of parliamentary ratification.

[PRAGUE/Reuters/Finance.cz]