The commitment of the Conservative Party leadership (breaking their previous manifesto pledge) to leave the Christian Democrat group (EPP) in the European Parliament and set up a new political group has still not been carried out, as they have failed to find enough allies from the other member states.

The one ally they have found - the Czech Civic Democrats - are now in government in Prague. Having been strongly opposed to the previous constitutional treaty, they now plan to ratify the reform treaty without a referendum. Their leader in the European Parliament, Mr Zahradil, explained this to the European Parliament last week, seeing this as a treaty that "sets Europe on an intergovernmental path" rather than in a federal direction, and is quite different from the constitutional treaty.

Curiously, Conservatives in Britain seem to be keeping quiet about this view of their closest partners in Europe.