BRUSSELS (AFP)The Lisbon Treaty's final ratification by the Czechs paves the way for "a more democratic" European Union and officially launches the hunt for its first president, the Swedish EU presidency said Tuesday.
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt also announced officially that the Lisbon Treaty, devised to streamline the European Union and ease its decision-making process, could now come into force on December 1.
"Czech President Vaclav Klaus has signed the treaty. Thus the final hurdle in the way of the Treaty of Lisbon has been cleared," he said in a statement.
Describing himself as "very pleased" at Klaus's move, Reinfeldt said the signing ended "far too long period of institutional focus within the EU."
"It opens up (the way) for a more democratic, transparent and efficient union," said Reinfeld, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency.
He said he would call an EU summit shortly and would "now begin name consultations" among the 27 member states on who to pick as the first EU Council president and the foreign policy high representative which the treaty creates.
Unofficial talks on the two new posts began in earnest at a regular EU summit in Brussels last week, with the early favourite for president, former British prime minister Tony Blair, seeing his chances fade.
A Czech constitutional court ruling opened the way for the eurosceptic Klaus to join his 26 fellow European leaders and ratify the treaty, which he did earlier Tuesday.
"After a long journey, the Treaty of Lisbon has reached the goal... The treaty enters into force on December 1 and all the details must now be put into place," said a relieved Reinfeldt.
Treaty opponents warn that the text represents a major step towards a federal Europe.
EU Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso welcomed the signing as "the crucial step".
"It's now absolutely clear that the Lisbon Treaty will enter into force soon," Barroso added, stressing that the move will also allow him to begin the process of nominating a new commission to serve with him.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, whose job will disappear under the Lisbon treaty, said its entry into force "will enable us to work in a much more coherent and efficient way and give us a stronger voice on the international scene."
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