On November 3rd the Czech Constitutional Court dismissed all claims surrounding threats to Czech sovereignty posed by the Lisbon Treaty. i.e. The mythical "euro elite" won't be ruling us from Brussels. With no further recourse, the Czech President who was fighting tooth and nail to stop the treaty finally put pen to paper and signed the Lisbon Treaty.

This means that all 27 member states have signed the Lisbon Treaty removing any final obstacles blocking implementation. There was a fear that UK Conservative leader David Cameron would continue to persist on holding a referendum if his party wins the next UK general election as expected

However, the latest news is that after the Czech ratification, Cameron is to backtrack on his plans to hold a referendum. Good news for the already delayed treaty. Bad news for all the euroskeptics out there. Cameron is facing a storm of criticism from Tory backbenchers and anti EU parties like UKIP and the BNP.

To counteract this, Cameron came out yesterday November 4th with a strong speech outlining his plans to get tough with the EU and take back some powers if he gets elected next year. He also annoucned changes to plans to ensure that every future EU treat requires a referendum, and that the UK gets a complete opt-out from the Charter of Fundamental Rights. His agenda is likely to be extremely unwelcome in Europe. The French Europe Minister has already started the criticism by branding Cameron's plans as "autistic"

Read the full text of Cameron's speech.  

So, when can we expect the treaty to be in place? The Czech Republic now have to lodge their Treaty documents with the authorities in Rome, in keeping with the formal traditions. The rules say that the Treaty comes into effect at the beginning of the month that the last country signs. Assuming no hiccups, the Lisbon Treaty could enter into force the 1st of the December. The EU will then operate via the new rules as set out by the Lisbon Treaty.

With the uncertainty surrounding final ratification over, member states can now get to work on putting the new treaty into effect. First on the agenda will be the appointment of the two positions created by the Lisbon Treaty - The President of the European Council, and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

Numerous candidates are being touted in the media with Tony Blair going from flavour of the month to best before 2009 after numerous EU leaders voiced opposition to his candidacy. Some EU leaders think he is too big a personality for a role that has yet to be defined. Others questioned his euro credentials citing the UK's reluctance to use the euro, and opt out of key EU policies like the Schengen free travel area . His role in the war with Iraq is also very contentious in mainland Europe - the French were strongly against the invasion.

The topic also featured on our forum where the idea of Blair took some harsh criticism in a topic called : How can we stop Blair becoming EU president? 

The next meeting of the European Council this month is set to discuss and possibly decide the new appointments.

Keep an eye on our facebook page and twitter feed for updates and breaking news about the candidates for the two new roles.