Conservatives to drop EU referendum pledge: report

LONDON (AFP) – David Cameron, leader of the Conservative party, widely tipped to be the next prime minister, is to drop plans for a referendum on the European Union's key reforming Lisbon Treaty, a newspaper said Tuesday.

Cameron is set to announce he will abandon a pledge to hold a vote on the treaty if his party wins the country's general election due by next June, the Daily Telegraph said.

A referendum had threatened to cause a headache for the European Union amid delays over the introduction of the treaty in the 27-nation bloc, which must be ratified by all member countries to take effect.

Cameron said Monday that once the document is endorsed by all EU members and comes into force, it will "not be a treaty" and will instead be part of European law.

The last remaining obstacle to ratification could be removed on Tuesday when a top Czech Republic court rules on its legality, paving the way for eurosceptic Czech President Vaclav Klaus to sign the text.

Cameron could announce as early as Tuesday that his referendum plan -- a pledge to his party in 2007 and voters -- will be dumped, according to the newspaper's website, citing unnamed sources.

"We have to realistic and once the Czech court rules, we will have to accept the new reality. We might not wait for Klaus," a source was quoted saying.

The Financial Times, also citing sources, said the announcement would come "very soon."

Cameron had written to the Czech president urging him to delay ratifying the treaty, sparking anger from the leaders of France, Germany and Spain, media reports said last week.

The Conservatives have not so far spelt out what they will do if all EU countries have ratified the treaty and they get into office.

Most opinion polls put the Conservatives well ahead of Gordon Brown's Labour party with a general election looming.

The treaty, designed to streamline governance in the bloc, will create a new post of EU president, with former prime minister Tony Blair a front runner for the job.

Eurosceptic Cameron's decision to quit earlier this year the main centre-right European People's Party (EPP) grouping in the European Parliament in favour of an alliance with smaller, often eastern European parties raised eyebrows in Brussels.