BRUSSELS, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The European Union has taken note of the difficulties faced by the Czech Republic in ratifying the Lisbon Treaty, EU heads of state said in a statement Friday.

    "(The EU summit) noted that the Czech Republic cannot complete the ratification until the Constitutional Court delivers its positive opinion" on the Lisbon Treaty, an unnamed diplomat said, quoting the summit declaration.

    Prague's parliamentary ratification was suspended in late April after the Senate demanded that the constitutional court rule on whether the treaty is in line with the Czech constitution.

    The EU leaders also pointed out that "the parliaments in 19 member states have ratified the treaty and the ratification process continues in other countries," the diplomat added.

    The difficult situation arising from Ireland's rejection last week of the Lisbon Treaty has dominated the two-day summit of EU government heads here.

    The reform treaty is a revised version of the aborted constitutional treaty meant to simplify decision-making and streamline the organization of the bloc.

    Euroskeptic Czech President Vaclav Klaus has declared the Lisbon Treaty actually dead following the Irish rejection on June 12.

    But Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, who is in Brussels to attend a foreign ministers' meeting, said he hoped his country's parliament would ratify the treaty by January next year despite the constitutional hurdle.

    "It would be very good to ratify by Jan. 1 because our (rotating EU) presidency starts (at that time), but there are things underway that could make it difficult," he told reporters in Brussels.

    "I presume the decision of the court will be at the beginning of autumn," so as to present it to parliament in November and ratify it in December, Schwarzenberg said.

    The Irish "no" vote has thrown the EU into anxiety and uncertainty as delays in the document's implementation may hinder the integration process of the 27-nation bloc.

    Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, who promised earlier Friday that he would not force Czech lawmakers to ratify the treaty, said at a press briefing after the summit that he "can't give any aspect concerning the outcome" of the Czech ratification.

    He said that he signed on the Lisbon Treaty and would stand by his words, but would respect, whether or not positive, the result of the parliament's vote on the treaty.

    Asked whether he could give a clearer position in the October EU summit, Topolanek said that would depend on whether there would be a ruling by the Constitutional Court. If "Yes," he could give clearer position, but if "No," he "will say the same things said today."