SNAP ANALYSIS: Czech ratification pivotal for EU reforms

By Timothy Heritage

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Czech ratification of the European Union's reform treaty on Tuesday ended years of wrangling over a document intended to give the EU more global clout.

* Czech President Vaclav Klaus's decision to sign the treaty completes EU ratification because it had already been ratified by the other 26 member states. The treaty is now widely expected to come into force on December 1. Political experts said it would not take effect immediately because of legal procedures that must be followed. But Jose Manuel Barroso, the president of the executive European Commission, said: "The road has been a marathon of hurdles but the last hurdle is now removed."

* The ruling opens the way to reforms of the EU institutions to ease decision-making, which has become unwieldy since the bloc expanded to 27 member states, and give the EU more influence on the world stage. This is intended to match the rise of emerging powers such as China following the global economic crisis.

* EU leaders can now push ahead full steam with deciding whom to appoint to two jobs outlined in the treaty -- the new post of president of the Council of EU leaders and a foreign policy chief with enhanced powers. The leaders had said they wanted legal clarity to agree on the appointments, and were waiting for a ruling by the Czech constitutional court and Klaus's signature to provide this.

* Sweden, which holds the EU presidency, could now call a special summit on the appointments because no decisions were taken on the nominations at a summit last week. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said last week a special summit would probably be required. The EU wants to complete the appointments as soon as possible to fill the legal and political vacuum and to enable European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso to start assembling the new Commission, the EU executive comprising representatives of the member states.

* Klaus signed the treaty even though he said it would take away Czech sovereignty. Pressure on him to sign became insurmountable after the Czech constitutional court rejected a legal challenge by a group of senators allied to Klaus. The Czech parliament had already approved the document.

* Although Klaus signed the treaty despite opposing its content, he will feel he has saved face by securing a deal with other EU member states that gives the Czech Republic an opt-out from a human rights charter attached to the treaty. EU leaders agreed last week to this opt-out, which Klaus said was necessary to shield the Czech Republic from property claims by ethnic Germans expelled after World War Two.

* The ruling reduces the likelihood of Britain's opposition Conservatives holding a referendum on the treaty if they win power in a parliamentary election next year. Conservative leader David Cameron had said he would hold a referendum if not all other countries ratified the treaty by the time of the British election.