EU leaders welcome Czech court's treaty ruling

(BRUSSELS) - European Union leaders welcomed Tuesday a Czech court ruling that the EU's Lisbon reform treaty is legal, leaving only one key obstacle before the long-awaited blueprint can enter force.

"I welcome the court's decision and that we have legal clarity on the Lisbon Treaty. We are now very close to full ratification," said Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency.

The decision Tuesday by the Czech Constitutional Court means that the text need only be signed by President Vaclav Klaus -- who is deeply eurosceptic and opposes it -- for it to be fully ratified in all 27 EU member states.

After securing a last-minute demand that his country be granted an opt-out of the EU's charter of fundamental rights, which is part of the massive treaty, Klaus had pledged to sign once the court ruled all was legal.

"Together with a signature in the Czech Republic, the presidency will continue the completion of Lisbon Treaty preparations," Reinfeldt said.

In a statement, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said: "I believe that no further unnecessary delays should prevent the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty."

The treaty streamlines decision-making in the expanding bloc, and creates the new posts of EU president and a beefed-up foreign policy supremo.

EU leaders have pledged to complete ratification by the end of this year so that the reform package can enter force early next year.