Demonstrators urge Czech government to reject Lisbon Treaty

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• published: 23 Jul 2015
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1. Opponents of the Lisbon Treaty gathering with Cinquantenaire arches in background 2. Pan of demonstrators, EU summit venue behind 3. Various shots of demonstrators with placards reading "Don't do it Klaus," and "Democracy has no deadline" 4. Woman holding Czech flag, police in background 5. Various more of protest, police 6. Security near summit venue 7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Daniel Hannan, UK Conservative MEP: "Well, I think the Czechs shouldn't be bullied, I think the president of the Czech Republic should make his own decision according to his interpretation of Czech national interest and his interpretation of the Czech constitution, but he shouldn't feel under pressure. He should remember that whatever the other governments say a majority of the 500 million citizens of the EU never asked for the Lisbon Treaty and would support him all the way in rejecting it." 8. Wide of protestors in front of Cinquantenaire 9. Set up shot of Mikolaj Dowgielewicz, surrounded by media 10. Close of media 11. SOUNDBITE: (English) Mikolaj Dowgielewicz, Polish European Affairs Minister: "We have very limited scope for emission reductions up to 2020 because we expect high economic growth. We don't want to become a museum of folklore of eastern Europe. We want to develop quickly and this is in the interests of the European economy. At the same time due to the structure of the Polish power sector we cannot reduce emissions very quickly. So basically the scope for (Polish) emission reductions is very limited and I would really welcome more efforts from rich western European countries to reduce emissions themselves." 12. Wide of Dowgielewicz surrounded by media STORYLINE: A group of protesters gathered in Brussels on Friday to implore Czech President Vaclav Klaus to continue to refuse to ratify the Lisbon treaty, despite a deal having been struck the night before. Late on Thursday the European Union's stalled reform treaty overcame a crucial hurdle after EU leaders agreed to last-minute demands from the Czech Republic in return for the country's ratification of the Lisbon treaty. Amongst the handful of demonstrators was Daniel Hannan, a UK Conservative MEP who felt that "the Czechs shouldn't be bullied." "I think the president of the Czech Republic should make his own decision according to his interpretation of Czech national interest." EU leaders agreed to demands that cleared the way for Klaus to sign the treaty if the Czech constitutional court finds the pact does not violate national law. The court is expected to rule on Tuesday. Klaus, an ardent Euro-sceptic, had refused to sign the treaty until his country was offered an opt-out from the treaty's Charter of Fundamental Rights. Klaus had used the demand for the opt-out to try to scuttle ratification of the treaty which he opposes. He fears the treaty would hand over too many national powers to EU institutions in Brussels. However, pressure on him to sign intensified after he became the lone holdout when Irish voters passed the treaty in a second referendum earlier this month. The Lisbon Treaty would streamline decision-making and bolster the bloc's role on the world stage. It would also create the post of a fixed EU president, a job which leading European figures are already jockeying for behind the scenes. Meanwhile, EU leaders also considered a new proposal in talks on Friday that would let poorer eastern members pay less into a climate change aid fund than the bloc's leading countries. In the final day of talks EU leaders will try to accommodate nine eastern EU members hard hit by the global financial crisis. "We don't want to become a museum of folklore of eastern Europe. We want to develop quickly," said Polish European Affairs Minister Mikolaj Dowgielewicz. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/f351ae5f10fac6b7ed33bf0ecf2cc550 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork