30.06.09 German court to rule on EU treaty
German court to rule on EU treaty
By Steve Rosenberg
BBC News, Berlin
Germany\'s Constitutional Court is due to rule on whether the Lisbon Treaty to reform the European Union is compatible with German law.
A number of German MPs have asked the court to decide against the treaty, dismissing it as undemocratic.
If the judges agree, it would be a major embarrassment for the government - and a severe blow to the treaty.
The German parliament has already ratified the treaty, but President Horst Koehler has not signed it yet.
He is waiting to hear what the eight judges of the Constitutional Court think.
Opponents of the treaty claim it is undemocratic, that it undermines Germany\'s parliament and hands over too much power to Brussels.
A number of German lawmakers - mostly from the left-wing Linke party - have gone to court to try to stop the treaty.
There is also an MP from a party allied to Chancellor Angela Merkel\'s conservatives.
It is considered unlikely that the court would declare the treaty unconstitutional.
But the judges may qualify their support for the treaty and stress the need for parliament to maintain a key role in matters of national sovereignty.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8125742.stm
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