Focus on Czech leader after Irish EU vote

BRUSSELS: Czech President Vaclav Klaus faced growing pressure yesterday to ratify the European Union's Lisbon reform treaty after Ireland's overwhelming approval of the charter revived plans to give the EU more global influence.

Just over two-thirds of Irish voters backed the treaty on Friday in a referendum put to them a second time, marking a decisive turnaround that was widely attributed to the EU's role in helping Ireland through the global economic crisis.

But the treaty, which would streamline decision-making of the 27-country bloc and create a long-term president and a powerful foreign policy chief, takes effect only if Poland and the Czech Republic follow other member states in ratifying it.