The upper house of the Czech parliament has voted to approve the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty, removing one of its few remaining obstacles.
Czech ratification will not be complete until signed by President Vaclav Klaus, a Eurosceptic who appears in no rush. The Czech Senate voted 54-20 in favour of the reform treaty, aimed at streamlining EU institutions to make them more flexible after the 27-nation bloc’s enlargement in recent years. The treaty cannot take effect unless all 27 EU member states ratify it.
