Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Czech President Vaclav Klaus, the only European Union leader who hasn’t signed the Lisbon Treaty, may be forging an exit-strategy from his standoff with Brussels, allowing a resumption of the bloc’s biggest overhaul in decades.

Klaus, who fears a loss of Czech sovereignty from the treaty, told local media in an interview published on Oct. 17 that the drive to ratify the Lisbon Treaty is like a train that is “going so quickly” it probably can’t be stopped.

A fan of Margaret Thatcher who refuses to fly the EU flag from his Prague castle, Klaus has gained local popularity for his stance, casting himself as a crusader against the bloc’s influence in domestic politics. He’s seeking an opt-out to protect the country against property claims from Sudeten Germans forced out after World War II.

“It seems Klaus is creating a back door,” said Bohumil Dolezal, a Prague-based political scientist, in a phone interview. Klaus won points among Czechs for “being a defender of people against claims from Sudeten Germans. Probably he thinks he has done enough and in the foreseeable future he will more or less pack it all up.”

Klaus said in the interview published in newspaper Lidove Noviny that while he “can’t consider” the treaty to be a good thing for Europe or the Czech Republic, it “won’t be the end of history” if the document comes into force.

‘Footnote’

In addition to his demand for an opt-out, Klaus has also refused to sign the treaty before the Czech Constitutional Court rules on a complaint filed by some senators. A hearing on the complaint is scheduled for Oct. 27 and the court on Oct. 16 said it had received all necessary briefs.

The country’s currency, the koruna, has lost 2.2 percent against the euro since the end of September, making it the second-worst performer in the period of the 26 emerging-market currencies tracked by Bloomberg. The koruna was trading at 25.785 against the euro at 4:16 p.m.

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

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

Not Passive

Slovak Premier Robert Fico said if the Czechs are granted an exemption, he will seek a similar accord to shield his nation from claims made by Hungarians who were driven out after 1945. His country has already completed the ratification process.

“If the Czech Republic negotiates its opt-out, Slovakia cannot stay passive,” he said in a video statement posted on his Web site today. “We have only two options; either we will veto the Czech proposal at the European Council, or we will insist on it being effective for Slovakia as well.”

Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer said he hopes the Cabinet is trying to come up with such a wording of the text that should also satisfy Slovakia, CTK news agency reported. He refused to elaborate, citing ongoing negotiations, CTK said.

European Commission President Jose Barroso told reporters in Brussels today he “certainly” hopes “no more artificial obstacles are put against the conclusion of the process. “We need the treaty. The European Union cannot be on hold.”

Barroso said he hopes the matter will be “solved as soon as we have the decision” of the Czech Constitutional Court.

‘Can’t Wait’

The 68-year-old Klaus denied speculation 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 in elections likely to be held next May.

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

“I will not and can’t wait for British elections,” Klaus told the newspaper. Klaus is serving the second of a maximum of two terms as Czech president.

If Klaus backs down, focus can shift to candidates for an EU president, the keystone of the Treaty, the latest overhaul of constitutional rules dating back to the founding of the EU in 1957. The 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.

Opposition has mounted to former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair. French President Nicolas Sarkozy told Le Figaro this past week that Blair’s candidacy is hobbled by the U.K.’s failure to adopt the euro.

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.

Other 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.

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

Last Updated: October 19, 2009 10:42 EDT