EU to choose leaders after reform treaty ratified

By Timothy Heritage

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union will quickly appoint its first long-term president and a powerful foreign policy chief after ratifying a treaty on Tuesday to give the 27-country bloc more influence on the world stage.

Czech President Vaclav Klaus signed the treaty after his country's constitutional court threw out a legal challenge, ending eight years of wrangling that held up reforms to make the EU function better.

"President Klaus' decision marks an important and historic step for all of Europe," British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said.

"Today is a day when Europe looks forward, when it sets aside years of debate on its institutions, and moves to take strong and collective action on the issues that matter most to European citizens: security, climate change, jobs and growth."

The EU, a political, economic and trading bloc representing nearly 500 million people, must put aside deep divisions if it is to increase its influence and match the rise of emerging powers such as China following the global economic crisis, political analysts say.

EU leaders hailed Klaus's ratification as a vital stage in a long journey to revamp the Union following the accession of 12 new member states in 2004 and 2007, most of them from former communist east Europe, which has complicated decision-making.

The treaty needed the approval of all member states to go into force and only the Czech Republic had been holding out since Irish voters backed it at the second time of asking in September. The treaty replaces a planned EU constitution, abandoned when Dutch and French voters rejected it in 2005.

"Today's development means that the long saga of the Lisbon treaty is nearing a welcome end, and that the welcome reforms which it contains will now be implemented in the very near future," said Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen.