Lisbon ratification "more difficult": Czech minister

STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - Ratification of the European Union's Lisbon reform treaty by the Czech Republic will be harder after the government lost a no-confidence vote, Deputy Prime Minister Alexandr Vondra said on Wednesday.

"The ratification process is on track ... but it will be a lot more difficult now to convince people to vote in favor," Vondra told a news conference at the European Parliament.

"The current developments complicate the situation. But it is of great interest for the Czech Republic to ratify Lisbon."

Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek lost a no-confidence vote on Tuesday, plunging the country -- which holds the six-month rotating presidency of the EU -- into a political crisis.

The Czech Senate, the upper house of parliament, was expected to vote next month on the treaty, which aims to give the EU more clout and requires the ratification of all 27 member states to come into force.

However, the no-confidence motion undermines Topolanek's leverage over backbenchers in his party and so makes the backing of the upper house uncertain. Topolanek may decide to postpone any vote rather than risk losing it.

"I urge all Czech leaders, including the opposition, not to hold the treaty hostage to domestic politics," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told the same news conference.

"It should not be used as a weapon on domestic issues. Rejection would only serve to damage other countries in the Union. All 27 member states have signed up to the treaty and this agreement has to be respected."

The Czech Republic, Poland and Ireland have yet to ratify the treaty. The Irish are expected to hold a second referendum on the issue in October after voters rejected it last year, plunging the bloc into chaos.

Poland's eurosceptic president said he would wait for the outcome of the Irish plebiscite before signing the treaty into law.

Topolanek grudgingly supports the treaty. Many of his Civic Democrat party colleagues oppose the legislation, which would streamline decision-making in Brussels, create a long-term EU president and allow for a stronger foreign-policy chief.

(Reporting by Darren Ennis; editing by Mark John/Dale Hudson)