UPDATE 1-Czech Klaus to sign EU treaty after opt-out

                                
* PM says Klaus still demands opt-out before signing treaty
                                
 * EU leaders to discuss demand on Thursday
                                
 * Klaus is only EU leader who has not ratified treaty
                                
 
                                
 (Adds quote, no comment from Klaus, background)
                                
 By Jan Lopatka
                                
 PRAGUE, Oct 28 (Reuters) - President Vaclav Klaus has
promised to sign the EU Lisbon Treaty provided he gets the Czech
opt-out from the EU charter of rights he has long demanded,
Prime Minister Jan Fischer said on Wednesday.
                                
 Klaus is the only European Union leader who has not ratified
the treaty, aimed at giving the bloc of 500 million people a
more united voice on the global scene by creating a long-term
presidency and the post of foreign representative.
                                
 He has long opposed the treaty, saying it will turn the
Union into a superstate that will take away sovereignty from
member states. 
                                
 But he has indicated he would drop his opposition if the
Czechs won an opt-out from the charter of fundamental rights
attached to the treaty. He says this is needed to protect the
Czechs against property claims by Germans expelled from
Czechoslovakia after World War Two.
                                
 Fischer will negotiate the demand with EU leaders, irritated
by what they see as Klaus's foot-dragging, at a summit in
Brussels on Thursday and Friday, and Klaus's pledge is designed
to strengthen his negotiating position.
                                
 Asked whether Klaus had promised to sign the treaty if his
demand was met, Fischer said:
                                
 "Yes I have this guarantee, I have this assurance from the
president, from our meeting late yesterday afternoon. I have no
reason not to trust him."
                                
 A spokesman for Klaus had no immediate comment.
                                
 Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country
holds the EU presidency until December, said earlier that he too
expected Klaus to sign the treaty.
                                
 "I feel convinced that he is prepared to sign given that we
meet his demand that the Czech Republic can get an opt-out from
the rights charter and that is a decision we are preparing and
discussing with the member states right now," he told reporters.
                                
 Apart from the opt-out, Klaus must wait for a review of the
treaty by the Czech Constitutional Court, expected next Tuesday.
                                
 Most lawyers expect the court to rule the treaty does not
infringe the constitution. 
                                
 Clearing the last two hurdles in the Czech Republic would
allow the union to pick its new president. Former British prime
minister Tony Blair is among those being considered, but his
success is far from certain. [ID:nLS694083]
 (Additional reporting by Love Liman; editing by Tim Pearce)