German President Horst Koehler signed a law Wednesday to ratify the EU's Lisbon Treaty, dpa quoted a presidential spokesman in Berlin as saying. The treaty must be ratified by all EU member states before it can come into force. Aside from Germany, ratification still needs to be completed by the Czech Republic, Poland and Ireland. Ireland goes to the polls next month for a second referendum on the treaty, having already rejected it once last year. The German president made his move just after a last legal challenge to the law failed at Germany's constitutional court. With Germany's ratification set to come into force Friday, the next step will be Ireland's second referendum on October 2. Germany's ratification of the agreement to establish a more powerful EU leadership had been held up this year by a court challenge, which led to parliamentary amendments to the law this month. At the end of last week, there were fears that Koehler might hold off with his signature while an opponent, Dieter Spethmann, mounted a fresh legal challenge. But the court in Karlsruhe rejected the suit in a verdict published Wednesday. Germany's ratification is to become final this week, after the law has been printed in the government gazette and Koehler signs the actual ratification document on Friday so it can be lodged with treaty officials in Rome, the spokesman said.
