The World from Berlin

'The War of Nerves over EU Reform Is Finally Over'

Czech Republic's President Vaclav Klaus signed the Lisbon Treaty on Tuesday, ending eight years of difficult negotiations for European reforms.

Close to a decade of wrangling over EU reform came to an end on Tuesday when Czech President Vaclav Klaus signed the Lisbon Treaty, paving the way for it to come into force by December. German newspapers welcome his decision but some warn that the hard work is just beginning.

The Lisbon Treaty passed its last major hurdle on Tuesday and looks set to become law within weeks. Czech President Vaclav Klaus conceded defeat and signed the treaty at Prague Castle following a ruling by the country's Constitutional Court that said it was compliant with Czech law.

Europe's reform treaty is now staggering toward the finishing line after a tortuous process of negotiations and ratification that lasted almost a decade. As the European Union expanded to 27 members it became clear that the previous structures were untenable. The new treaty will allow more decisions to be made by majority rather than unanimous voting and gives the national parliaments and the European Parliament more say in EU policy. The original European Constitution, which had included the trappings of a state entity such as an anthem and flag, had fallen by the wayside after voters in France and the Netherlands voted "no" in referenda in 2005. A subsequent watered-down treaty was then rejected by Irish voters last year and was only given the green light in a second vote this October after Dublin secured a number of guarantees concerning taxation, Ireland's military neutrality and its ban on abortion.

Meanwhile, the euroskeptic President Klaus had attacked and stalled the ratification process in the Czech Republic for months, claiming he had concerns that ethnic Sudeten Germans expelled from then-Czechoslavakia after the war might seek to reclaim their former lands under the Lisbon Treaty. At last week's EU summit in Brussels leaders agreed to give the Czechs an opt-out from a rights charter attached to the treaty, but most experts believe lawsuits wouldn't be possible, anyway, and that Klaus was merely using the issue to try to derail a treaty he didn't like. By Tuesday, though, it was clear he had run out of options. "I expected the decision of the Constitutional Court and respect it," he told reporters, adding that he completely disagreed with the ruling. "The Czech Republic will cease to be a sovereign state."

'Stronger and More Capable of Acting'

With the treaty now likely to come into force on Dec. 1, other European leaders voiced their relief. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said in a statement released on Tuesday: "Today is a day when Europe looks forward, when it sets aside years of debate on its institutions and moves to take strong and collective action on the issues that matter most to European citizens: security, climate change, jobs and growth."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, addressing the US Congress in Washington, said that the EU "will become stronger and more capable of acting," making it a "strong and reliable partner for the United States." French President Nicolas Sarkozy also greeted the events in Prague, saying: "This is great news for all Europeans."

Now EU leaders will have to agree on a new EU president, who will chair the European Council for a period of two and half years, replacing the current system of rotating the presidency every six months. There will also be a new foreign policy chief who will head up a newly created European diplomatic service.

On Wednesday, German newspapers greet the news that Europe can finally put the wrangling over Lisbon behind it, but some editorialists are less certain that the new improved Europe will be able to display a new sense of dynamism and strength.

The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes:

"The Lisbon Treaty, the new legal basis for the Union of Europeans, can finally be ratified. Many people who hope that the institutional reform will provide more democracy and ability to act will be delighted. However, even those who don't expect much from the treaty will be relieved that there will finally be an end to all this navel gazing and that the EU can finally concentrate on the details of policy. It took far too long for the EU to lay this egg. Now it can prove that it has the strength that it has always claimed for itself and that its partners expect of it."

The leftist Die Tageszeitung writes:

"Nothing now seems to stand in the way of the reform. However, as the transformation to the new structures gets closer, it seems that more possible problems are raising their ugly heads. The fact that the leaders failed to precisely define the job description of the new president of the European Council is now coming back to haunt them."

"The candidate is supposed to ensure continuity in the EU and represent the union for two and half years. However, the practical work seems to be confined to preparing for and chairing the four annual EU summits."

"Who is going to represent the EU at future international conferences? And who will speak for Europe, when it concerns the position of the member states in important foreign issues? The leaders may entrust a strong leader with the task of strengthening Europe's profile. Or they may simply install an empty shirt."

The conservative Die Welt writes:

"This treaty does not solve all of Europe's problems but it creates more democratic and more efficient structures. The most important thing is that Europe can now finally stop talking about the structures and details, as if the entire well-being of the continent depended on them. In reality in recent years the need for a reform treaty was often used as an easy excuse when Europe yet again fell short of its self-imposed goals. The EU has these new instruments now but they will have to be shaped and taken hold of. Better structures are no guarantee that Europe's politicians will muster the will to act with dynamism."

"The direction Europe now takes will be made manifest in the choice of the (first president and foreign minister). ... Europe also needs a new mentality and decisiveness, to put its stamp on the world and to take on more responsibility. Developing in this direction may prove to be more difficult than ratifying the Lisbon Treaty."

The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

"Better late than never … The war of nerves over the reform of the EU is finally over. The time is approaching when the union of 27 will be able to present itself as a single political actor in the rivalries with the world's major and emerging powers. It will be able to reach decisions quicker and with two top representatives will also be more visible. Europe is getting that telephone number that Henry Kissinger once said he wanted."

"For years the dispute centered on whether this reform impinged upon the sovereignty of the individual member states. It is no coincidence that it was the Czechs who had particular concerns. The country was ruled for centuries by the Habsburg monarchy until 1918. From 1938 under the Nazis and from 1948 the communists, the country experienced in different ways what it meant to be ruled from abroad. One should take very seriously this historical experience, which other Central and Eastern European countries share."

"Despite all the progress in integration there still remain unresolved problems between neighbors in the EU, which can still poison the atmosphere today. … In a now consolidated and strengthened EU, the opportunity should be found to openly and confidently speak about these issues and to finally resolve them."

Siobhán Dowling