Bulgaria, France warn against Czech treaty rejection

(PARIS) - Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said here Monday after talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy that a refusal by the Czech Republic's leader to ratify the EU Lisbon Treaty would not be tolerated.

"It must not be allowed, it must not be tolerated. President Sarkozy is of the same opinion," Borisov said when asked about the Czechs being the last holdout in ratifying the European Union's reform treaty.

According to the office of the French president, during their talks Sarkozy noted that the 27-nation bloc had targeted for the Lisbon Treaty to take effect by the end of this year.

"Therefore, we cannot imagine that a member state would be responsible for trampling on its commitment," it said.

The Czech Republic also runs the risk of not having a commissioner on the next European Commission, the EU executive arm, it added.

Staunchly eurosceptic Czech President Vaclav Klaus is the last EU leader refusing to sign the text designed to streamline decision-making in the bloc which has expanded from 15 to 27 members since 2004.

Last Friday Klaus put another spanner in the works when he asked for an exemption on the treaty that would prevent ethnic Germans forced out of his country after World War II from claiming back their property.

Poland and Britain obtained exemptions in their negotiations in 2007, and Klaus now wants the Czech Republic to enjoy a similar favour.

On Monday the Czech cabinet said it wanted EU countries to discuss the opt-out from the Lisbon Treaty at an EU Council meeting on October 29-30.