Czechs resist pressure to ratify EU treaty

PRAGUE (Reuters) - The Czech Republic resisted pressure on Monday to go ahead with ratifying the European Union's reform treaty after its defeat by Irish voters, and said it would keep options open on how to proceed.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who met the prime ministers of four central European EU states in Prague, has led calls for the ratification process to continue around Europe despite Ireland's "No" vote last week.

In the Czech Republic, one of nine EU countries which have not ratified the pact, eurosceptic President Vaclav Klaus and some others in his ruling Civic Democratic Party said the Irish vote meant the treaty was dead and should be abandoned.

Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, a Civic Democrat who signed the treaty for the Czech Republic, said there could be no hurrying a decision on how to go forward but it was clear the treaty would not enter force on January 1 next year as planned.

"The discussion here is whether in case of the Irish 'No' it is even possible and legitimate to continue ratification," Topolanek said after talks with Sarkozy.

He said the Irish vote had to be respected the same way the French and Dutch referenda which killed a previous pact in 2005.

The Civic Democrats have sent the treaty to the Constitutional Court, expected to rule on it around September.

"Fortunately we do not have to solve this problem, because at present the process is halted here by the deliberations of the Constitutional Court," Topolanek said.

Sarkozy acknowledged the Czechs needed time.

"No one should have the feeling that he is being pushed anywhere," he said.

"We must not rush or dramatise anything. We will surely find the best way how to find unity in the European family on Thursday and Friday."

Deputy Prime Minister Alexandr Vondra, also a Civic Democrat, had told Monday's daily Hospodarske Noviny the French attempts to push others to forge ahead was "inappropriate".

European foreign ministers were meeting in Luxembourg on Monday to start picking up pieces of the Irish vote, and the overwhelming opinion was that ratification should continue.

The proposed new treaty would allow more EU decisions to be taken by a majority vote rather than consensus and provide the bloc with a long-term president and a foreign policy chief to give it more clout on the global scene.

France and Germany have pressed other countries to go ahead with ratification to keep up momentum during the French presidency of the EU in the second half of this year. The Czechs will hold the rotating presidency for the first half of 2009.

(Editing by Matthew Jones)