Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Czech President Vaclav Klaus, the last European Union leader yet to sign the Lisbon Treaty, suggested he may not continue to stand in the way as the ratification process has gone too far to stop it.

Klaus said in today’s Lidove Noviny that while he “can’t consider” the treaty to be a good thing for Europe or the Czech Republic, “the train with it is going so quickly and is so far that it probably won’t be possible to stop or return it, however much some of us would wish that.” His spokesman Radim Ochvat said he had no additional comment beyond what was published.

Even if it comes into force, it “won’t be the end of history,” Klaus told the newspaper. So far, Klaus has refused to sign the treaty before the Czech Constitutional Court rules on a complaint filed by some Senators.

The president has also demanded an opt-out from the bloc’s Charter of Fundamental Rights to ensure only local courts can decide about property claims from Germans expelled after World War II, before he signs the Lisbon Treaty. The document is intended to overhaul and streamline decision-making in the expanded EU.

The treaty doesn’t need to be re-ratified to include his “footnote” and rather the desired addition can be added to the next treaty that will have to be ratified by all 27 EU member states, such as an accession document with Croatia, Klaus said in the interview.

Croatia is negotiating to join the EU and is likely to wrap up talks next year.

Commission Reaction

While the comments seemed to suggest the president may eventually sign the Lisbon Treaty, the EU doesn’t regard the interview as a clear-cut change.

“He didn’t say he will sign the treaty,” European Commission spokesman Michele Cercone said today by telephone. Cercone said it was more a series of points Klaus was making, and the commission itself had no comment.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski signed the treaty on Oct. 10, leaving the Czech Republic as the lone holdout against the eight-year effort to revamp the EU’s rulebook, including creation of a president for the bloc.

With the treaty nearly set to come into force, attention has turned to the behind-the-scenes campaign for president. Opposition has mounted to former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair. French President Nicolas Sarkozy told Le Figaro this week that Blair’s candidacy is hobbled by the U.K.’s decision not to adopt the euro.

Presidency Focus

The presidency is the keystone of the Lisbon Treaty, the latest overhaul of constitutional rules dating back to the founding of the EU in 1957. The bloc’s president will serve a 2 1/2-year term with the possibility of being re-elected once. Much of the office’s power has yet to be defined.

Blair, 56, is the highest-profile candidate for the job. Opponents say the U.K. leader from 1997 to 2007 doesn’t belong in the job because the U.K. has remained an EU outsider, refusing to give up the pound and opting out of agreements like the passport-free travel zone.

Other presidential contenders tipped in the European press include Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and former Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel.

The Lisbon Treaty also will make it easier for the bloc to admit new members.

Klaus, who has opposed further moves to integrate the EU’s tax, regulatory and political structure, denied speculation by political commentators that he is trying to drag out the ratification process through mid-2010, when another treaty skeptic, U.K. Conservative leader David Cameron, may come to power following elections likely to be held next May.

Cameron, who leads in opinion polls, has said he may annul Parliament’s approval of the treaty and hold a referendum on the issue.

“I will not and can’t wait for British elections,” Klaus said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Andrea Dudikova in Prague at adudikova@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 17, 2009 12:22 EDT