Czech PM to submit ratified EU treaty next week

(PRAGUE) - Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer will file the ratified European Union reform treaty next week, paving the way for it to take effect on December 1, his office said Thursday.

"On November 13... Jan Fischer will submit the ratification instruments on the Lisbon Treaty to be lodged in a depository of the Italian Foreign Ministry in Rome," Fischer's spokesman Roman Prorok said in a statement.

The move is required by the treaty itself which says that the "instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Government of the Italian Republic."

"The Lisbon Treaty... will thus take effect on December 1," Prorok said.

The treaty says it will enter into force "on the first day of the month following the deposit of the instrument of ratification by the last signatory State."

The Czech Republic became the last EU member to ratify the document aiming to streamline decision-making in the 27-member bloc, which must be ratified by all EU members, when its President Vaclav Klaus signed it on Tuesday.

The staunchly eurosceptic head of state reluctantly added his signature after getting a green light from the country's top court, which had examined the treaty's compliance with the Czech constitution.

The EU awaited the ratification eagerly as it unties its hands to appoint a new European Commission -- its executive arm -- as well as fill the freshly-created posts of president and foreign affairs supremo.

The Swedish EU presidency is expected to call a special summit next week dedicated to deciding who should fill the two new jobs.