* Czech President Klaus says Lisbon gone too far to stop
* Klaus opens way to resolution of last-minute hurdle
* Klaus says will not wait for British election to ratify
(Adds context, spokesman not available to comment)
PRAGUE, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Czech President Vaclav Klaus
opened the way to resolve his last-minute objection to the
European Union's Lisbon reform treaty on Saturday and said the
charter had progressed too far for him to block it.
Klaus, the sole EU leader yet to ratify the treaty, stunned
the bloc this month when he demanded an opt-out clause to shield
the Czech Republic from property claims from ethnic Germans
expelled from the country after World War Two.
The new hurdle raised concern it could require new talks and
ratification among all EU members, threatening to undo years of
delicate work among diplomats that has resulted in the treaty's
approval by the remaining 26 EU states.
But on Saturday, the staunch eurosceptic told newspaper
Lidove Noviny that despite his continued opposition to the
charter, it had gone too far for him to stop it.
"I do not consider the Lisbon Treaty to be a good thing for
Europe, for the freedom of Europe, or for the Czech Republic,"
Klaus was quoted as saying.
"However, the train has already travelled so fast and so far
that I guess it will not be possible to stop it or turn it
around, however much we would wish to."
The treaty is meant to streamline a decision making process
made cumbersome since the EU's numbers jumped from 15 to 27
members and half a billion people when it expanded into
ex-communist Europe this decade.
Klaus sees the treaty as an attempt to create a European
super-state that will rob nations of their sovereignty.
He must wait for a ruling by the Constitutional Court on a
challenge to the treaty filed by a group of Czech senators
before he can sign it. The court will hold a hearing on Oct. 27.
Klaus's spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
IRISH EXCEPTION, BRITISH ELECTION
Klaus said last year he would not be the last man in Europe
to stand in the way of the treaty, and its approval by Irish
voters in a referendum this month appeared to pave the way for
potential capitulation by the right-wing president.
But last week, he threw up a new hurdle, demanding an
exception similar to those given to states like Poland and
Ireland -- a move criticised by analysts and Czech media who
said Klaus's foot-dragging could cast the country into
diplomatic isolation.
On Saturday, however, he appeared to open the way for a deal
that would not require a lengthy renegotiation.
"I never said that is necessary that my 'footnote' would
have to be ratified by all member states, along with the whole
Lisbon treaty again," he said.
"Similar to that, I have never said that guarantees similar
to those that the European Council gave to the Irish ... would
not be sufficient for me."
Ireland's guarantee reiterated that the treaty would not
undermine its neutrality, taxation and abortion laws.
Klaus said, as in the Irish case, such a guarantee would
have no legal force until the next treaty -- expected to allow
Croatia's accession -- came up for ratification by EU members.
He also dismissed speculation that he could be trying to
stall approval of the treaty until the next British election so
that the opposition Conservatives, who are expected to win,
could launch a referendum and topple Lisbon.
"I will not and cannot wait for the British election. They
would have to hold it in the coming days or weeks," Klaus said.
His last minute opposition has resounded with voters in the
Czech Republic, where anxiety over the post-war expulsion of the
3 million Sudeten Germans still surfaces. A poll showed this
week that 65 percent of Czechs backed Klaus because they feared
laws expelling Germans could be circumvented.
(Reporting by Michael Winfrey; Editing by Richard Williams)
