23/05/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 23 May, Germany became the 14th member state to have completed the ratification procedure for the Lisbon Treaty, following a vote in the Bundesrat, the upper chamber. In a press release, Commission President José Manuel Barroso welcomed the fact that more than half of member states had now approved the new Treaty. In the meantime, Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Alexandr Vondra announced that the Czech Republic, which will hold the EU Presidency in the first half of 2009, will prepare for two scenarios for its Presidency: one in which the Treaty comes into effect, as expected, on 1 January 2009, and the other in which its application is, for one reason or another, delayed. (H.B.)