Czech President Vaclav Klaus praised Irish voters Friday for rejecting a European Union reform treaty, portraying it as the project's death blow, the dpa reported.
"With today's decision by Irish voters, the Lisbon Treaty projects is finished and ratification will not continue," Klaus said in a statement.
Klaus, whose stance reflects considerable misgivings against the Lisbon Treaty among Czech politicians, called the outcome "a victory of freedom and common sense over artificial, elitist projects and European bureaucracy."
The Czech Republic has yet to ratify the pact, which is under review by the nation's Constitutional Court for possible conflicts with Czech law.
While opposing the treaty, Klaus has said he would sign off on it if the pact passes other ratification hurdles in his country. The Czech Republic is due to chair the EU during the first six months of 2009, the first former Soviet-bloc country in line for the presidency.