Counsel Magazine

The European Council, meeting in late October, agreed to add a protocol to the Lisbon Treaty which will allow the Czech Republic to opt out of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, just as the UK and Poland have done. This will mean that the Charter applies only to EU, and not national, legislation, in those Member States. Left with no valid excuse not to, the Czech President signed the Treaty on 3 November, bringing the ratification process to completion in all 27 Member States. Thus, the Treaty of Lisbon should enter into force by the year’s end.