On 13 November in Rome, the Czechs finally ratified the Lisbon Treaty. The last member state to do so, this momentous event ended years of writing, revising, and ratifying. It also marked the beginning of any equally complex process of interpreting and implementing the treaty. The ratification process was not certainly not without controversy. The month before, the Irish approved the Lisbon Treaty. Ireland was the only member state to hold a referendum, and it even did so twice, when the first answer (‘no !’) was not what it was looking for. Euro-skeptic Czech President Klaus was determined to block ratification, and was supported by British opposition leader David Cameron, who apparently wrote him a letter of support, something along the lines of ‘keep resisting, we’ll join you soon’. But the pressure grew too much, and the treaty has finally been formally approved, and will come into force 1 December 2009.

Photo : Flickr, Storm Crypt