The European Union has been watching Prague Castle for weeks, wondering what eurosceptic Czech President Vaclav Klaus would do. 

All other EU countries had ratified the Lisbon treaty on EU reforms, but Klaus held out, demanding changes... and waited for a ruling from the Czech constitution court, which threw out a complaint against the treaty.

[Vaclav Klaus, Czech President]:
"I had expected the court ruling and I respect it, although I fundamentally disagree with its content and justification."

In the end, Klaus signed the treaty after receiving an opt-out from a rights charter, to avoid any property claims by Germans expelled from Czechoslovakia after World War two. 

With the final country signing, it is expected to take effect in December.

The treaty is aimed at streamlining voting procedures and giving the EU more voice on the world stage, including the Union's first president, who is still to be chosen.

Klaus was constitutionally barred from signing the treaty until the top Czech court ruled on a complaint by his allies in the upper house of parliament.

Although he signed it, he complained that with the treaty the Czech Republic ceased to be a sovereign state.