Will Czechs reject Lisbon treaty?

The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic is set to rule on the Lisbon Treaty on 25 November, as a poll shows 55% of Czechs oppose its ratification.The treaty, an amended version of the discredited EU constitution, has already been rejected by voters in the Irish Republic, but 24 of the EU member states – including the UK – have ratified.However, the treaty cannot come into force unless it is ratified by all 27 EU states.

Czech opinion has grown steadily more negative since the beginning of the year, with 45% of people saying they either do not understand it or are not sure what it is meant to do.The Czech government had intended to ratify the treaty, without a referendum, but the process was stopped until it could be determined whether it breached the country's constitution.Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said this week he believed the Lisbon treaty could be ratified in the first quarter of next year. Public opinion seems to take a different view.