European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Thursday he is confident that all European Union member states will approve the bloc's reform treaty by year-end as planned, according to dpa. "I am in contact with all the governments of Europe. So far the information I have been given by them is that it should happen," Barroso said during his Prague visit. The treaty, signed by EU leaders in December, is aimed at streamlining decision-making in the enlarged 27-member union. If ratified by all member states by the end of 2008, EU should overhaul its institutions during the Czech Republic's rotating presidency over the bloc in the first half of 2009. "The Czech Republic will be responsible for making the new system work. ... 2009 must be a year of results and not simply a year of transition," Barroso said. Thirteen EU members - Denmark, Austria, Portugal, Slovakia, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovenia, Malta, Romania, France, Lithuania and Latvia - have so far passed the treaty in parliaments. In the Czech Republic, lawmakers for senior ruling Civic Democratic Party of Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek asked the country's top court to review the pact. Czech President Vaclav Klaus, who founded the party, is a critic of the treaty, but has pledged not to block its ratification. Ireland is the only country to hold a referendum on the document.
