http://en.rian.ru/world/20091018/156512219.html
Slovakia could follow Czechs in objecting to Lisbon Treaty
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WARSAW, October 18 (RIA Novosti) - Slovakia could follow the Czech Republic's example and voice its objections to the Lisbon Treaty over potential post-World War II property claims, the country's prime minister said on Czech television Sunday.
Robert Fico said Bratislava does not rule out that at the EU summit due in late October it could demand guarantees that Germany will not claim back land seized in line with the so-called Benes Decrees that had to do with the status of ethnic Germans in postwar Czechoslovakia.
Czech President Vaclav Klaus said Wednesday he would not lift his objections to the EU reform treaty as it is a threat to national sovereignty in its current form.
He demanded, among other things, an opt-out for his country from the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights over fears of property claims by Germans expelled after the war and asked the Czech Constitutional Court to review the treaty to see whether it conforms to the country's constitution.
The Lisbon Treaty is an international agreement signed in Lisbon on December 13, 2007 which is expected to change the workings of the European Union. Only the Czech Republic has so far refused to ratify the document, which needs the approval of all 27 EU members to take effect.
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