Two fifhts of Czechs want Klaus to quickly sign "Lisbon" - poll

SANEP also found out that 44 percent of people are convinced that postponing the signature harms the Czech Republic's name within the EU.

Thirty-seven percent of the polled are of the opposite opinion and 19 percent do not have a clear opinion.

The Czech parliament has passed the treaty, but Klaus, considered one of the biggest Eurosceptics within the EU, has not signed it.

He said previously he will be the last in Europe to make a decision on the treaty. After the Irish approved the treaty in a repeat referendum on Saturday, Polish President Lech Kaczynski is expected to sign the treaty this week.

The Czech Republic will thus be the last country that has not completed the process of ratification.

Klaus cannot sign the treaty now that a group of Civic Democrat (ODS) senators filed a complaint against the treaty with the Constitutional Court last week.

They want the court to say whether the treaty is compatible with the Czech constitution.

SANEP has found out that if a referendum were held on the treaty in the Czech Republic, 55 percent of people would vote for it.

Sixty-three percent of Czechs consider the Czech Republic's entry into the EU in 2004 a step in the right direction. They are mainly young people and businesspeople.

A majority of people aged 18 to 35, secondary- and university-educated people and businesspeople believe that the Czech Republic would by no means fare better now than if it stood outside the EU.

This opinion was expressed by 55 percent of people while 19 percent are of the opposite opinion and 26 percent were not able to say whether EU membership is advantageous for the Czech Republic.

The SANEP poll was conducted on October 1-3 on 4320 people aged 18-66. The margin of statistical error is 2.5 percent.

Autor: ČTK
www.ctk.cz