* President Klaus expected to sign treaty soon
* Pact could come into force in January
* Focus on who will be first EU president
* Barroso expects no unnecessary delays in implementation
(adds quotes from Barroso, Brown, European Parliament chief,
Czech PM, court)
By Jana Mlcochova
BRNO, Czech Republic, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The Czech
Constitutional Court threw out a complaint against the EU's
Lisbon Treaty on Tuesday, removing one of the final obstacles to
its ratification.
The ruling allows eurosceptic President Vaclav Klaus to sign
the treaty, which will give the EU its first long-term president
and streamline decision-making in the bloc of nearly half a
billion people.
The Czech Republic is the only EU member that has not yet
ratified the pact, which needs the consent of all of 27 states
to come into force.
"I believe that no further unnecessary delays should prevent
the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty," European Commission
President Jose Manuel Barroso said in a statement, adding that
he hoped the EU could move forward as quickly as possible on
nominating a long-term president.
Klaus had been banned by law from signing the treaty until
the court had ruled on a complaint by his allies in the Czech
upper house of parliament, the Senate, who argued the treaty
would erode national sovereignty.
ARGUMENTS REJECTED
The court rejected the arguments. "The judgment was
unanimous; none of the judges filed a dissenting opinion to
either the judgment or its reasoning," the court said in a
written verdict.
The treaty is aimed at giving the EU a bigger clout on the
world scene and making it more flexible. This is intended to
match the rise of emerging powers such as China.
The Czech parliament has approved the pact but Klaus long
argued against it, saying it would turn the EU into a superstate
with little democratic control.
However, Klaus said he would raise no further obstacles to
the document after EU leaders agreed last week to give the
Czechs an opt-out from a rights charter attached to the treaty.
Klaus says the exemption is necessary to avoid property claims
by Germans expelled from Czechoslovakia after World War Two.
"It is now time surely that the European Union moves on, not
talking about the institutional arrangements for years ahead,
but talking about the vital problems that all of us face -- and
that is creating jobs, creating growth, building a safer and
more secure environment and building greater security for
European people," British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said.
His comments were echoed by European Parliament President
Jerzy Buzek. "The final hurdle has been cleared for Klaus to
sign and finalise ratification. The treaty should now enter into
force by the end of the year," he told Reuters after the court
ruling.
"Due legal process has been accomplished, the Czechs have
been assured of their opt-outs and we look forward now to the
implementation of the treaty," he said.
Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer welcomed the verdict and
said he expected Klaus to sign now.
SEARCH FOR PRESIDENT
If Klaus signs the treaty within a couple of weeks, as
expected, it will come into force by the end of the year,
turning attention to who will be the EU's first president.
EU leaders failed to agree at their summit last week in
Brussels on who should take the job, whose powers are still
somewhat unclear, and a special summit may be needed to reach a
deal.
The chances of the once-favoured candidate, former British
prime minister Tony Blair, seem doomed after he failed to win an
endorsement from the European Socialists, his Labour Party's
allies.
No front-runner has emerged, but possible contenders include
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, former Finnish prime
minister Paavo Lipponen and Luxembourg Prime Minister
Jean-Claude Juncker.
(Writing by Jan Lopatka, Editing by Andrew Roche/David Stamp)
