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Submitted by ctv_en_6 on Fri, 10/30/2009 - 10:40
EU leaders meeting in Brussels have agreed a deal designed to win Czech backing of the Lisbon Treaty, clearing a major hurdle to its ratification.

The Czechs were granted an opt-out from the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights, similar to that of the UK and Poland.

Czech President Vaclav Klaus was satisfied with the concession, Czech PM Jan Fischer told reporters in Brussels on October 29. But EU leaders failed to agree on funding for a climate change pact to help developing nations.

"The road to ratification stands open," said Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency.

The Czech Republic is the only one of the 27 EU nations not to have ratified the treaty, which aims to streamline decision-making and bolster the bloc's role on the world stage. But there is one final legal hurdle to Prague's ratification - the Czech Constitutional Court is expected to rule next week on whether the treaty complies with the country's constitution.

EU leaders were expected to discuss who will fill the post of president of the European Council - a post created by the Lisbon Treaty.

On climate change, the EU failed to reach a united position ahead of December's United Nations Copenhagen summit, which aims to hammer out a new global climate treaty to replace the UN Kyoto Protocol.
BBC

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