The Irish “No” emboldened Euro-skeptics in other member states, not least the irascible Czech president, Václav Klaus, who has signaled that he may refuse to sign the Lisbon Treaty until Ireland’s ratification is secured. With the Czech Republic set to assume the presidency of the EU on January 1, 2009, there is a distinct fear that Klaus will use his position as Czech head of state to try to sabotage efforts to rescue the Lisbon Treaty.
实用主义者承认因为爱尔兰拒签《里斯本条约》而引发的批准危机已经变成了涉及欧洲更大范围内的问题。爱尔兰说“不”给欧洲其他成员国内的欧盟怀疑论者壮了胆，尤其是容易发火的捷克总统瓦茨拉夫·克劳斯。他已经发出风说，在确定爱尔兰批准《里斯本条约》之前，自己可能会拒绝签署这一条约。由于捷克共和国预计将在2009年1月1日成为欧盟的轮值主席国，人们显然担心克劳斯可能会利用自己捷克国家首脑的身份，试图破坏那些确保《里斯本条约》生效的努力。