Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- The European Union’s governing treaty moved to the brink of adoption after the Czech Constitutional Court rejected a challenge to the agreement and cleared the way for Czech President Vaclav Klaus’s assent.

Klaus’s signature is the final step to adoption of the so- called Lisbon Treaty, which has been accepted by 26 of the 27 EU nations. His resistance led to a compromise last week allowing the Czech Republic an opt-out from the planned bill of rights.

The Lisbon Treaty “is not in conflict with the constitutional law of the Czech Republic,” Pavel Rychetsky, the Brno-based court’s chief justice, said on state-run TV today after the unanimous decision. It was the second time the court rejected a challenge from 17 senators that the treaty violated Czech sovereignty. The accord is intended to streamline the bloc’s decision-making process and enhance some of its powers.

European Commission President Jose Barroso said in a statement that he expects “no further unnecessary delays” in the accord entering into force. EU leaders set a Jan. 1 target for starting the new governing arrangements, including selection of the first president. Klaus, who will hold a press conference at 4 p.m. today in Prague, has indicated he will sign after the court ruling, ending months of wrangling over the document’s fate in the central European nation of 10 million.

Ratification ‘Very Soon’

“I hope” ratification “can be done very soon, and that Europe can set aside years of constitutional and institutional debate,” U.K. Premier Gordon Brown told reporters today in London, adding the bloc can now address issues such as jobs, economic growth, climate change and security.

The resolution will further fuel jockeying for the posts of EU president and foreign-policy chief. The powers of the president, with a 2 1/2 year-term renewable once, remain to be fleshed out and debate has centered on whether the EU leaders who will make the choice want a globally recognized name like Tony Blair or a lesser-known consensus-seeker.

The EU may hold a summit this month after Klaus signs the treaty to approve candidates.

Balkenende a Favorite

Paddy Power Plc, Ireland’s biggest bookmaker, made Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende favorite to become the EU’s first president. The Dublin-based bookmaker is offering odds of 9-4 on Balkenende, meaning a bet of 4 euros would return 9 euros. Tony Blair is second favorite at 11-4.

EU leaders last week bowed to Klaus’s demands for an exemption to treaty provisions that might have granted property rights to ethnic Germans expelled after World War II.

The concession was Klaus’s price for abandoning his campaign against the treaty, which overhauls the EU’s half- century-old governing apparatus.

Klaus said in a statement on Oct. 29 he “welcomed with satisfaction” the EU decision and said he saw no further obstacles to the accord’s approval.

Czech Premier Jan Fischer said in an e-mailed statement that the court’s ruling means the “last obstacle” has been overcome and he expects Klaus to now sign. The senators who brought the challenges to the court said on state-run TV today they will not file any more cases and Rychetsky said at a press conference later that the court considers the issue closed.

No Flag

Klaus, a fan of Milton Friedman and Margaret Thatcher who refuses to fly the EU flag at the Prague castle, has opposed moves to integrate EU tax, regulatory and political structures.

He has denied suggestions from 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 British elections likely to be held next May.

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

“I will not and can’t wait for British elections,” Klaus said in an interview published by Lidove Noviny on Oct. 17.

Cameron said today he will discuss his position on the issue “before the end of this week,” adding the Czech court’s ruling makes a “new situation.”

“I think it is only fair that people should be given a referendum,” Cameron said in a speech in London today. “It looks like this treaty is no longer going to be a treaty, it looks like it is going to become part of European law and that is going to create a new situation.”

Cameron told LBC Radio, “I of course hope he doesn’t sign the treaty, but I suspect time is running out. It looks like this is going to happen. I am very disappointed by that.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Douglas Lytle in Prague at dlytle@bloomberg.netLenka Ponikelska in London at lponikelska@bloomberg.net;

Last Updated: November 3, 2009 09:51 EST