Prague - Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek expressed doubt that his country would ratify the European Union's reform treaty, but pledged not to hinder the process.

"The Czech government has approved the Lisbon Treaty and I signed it and I do not intend to pull that signature," the CTK news agency quoted Topolanek as saying late Thursday during an EU summit in Brussels.

"The Czech Republic will certainly not apply the brakes to the process," he said.

But Topolanek remained doubtful about the treaty's fate in the Czech parliament, where his eurosceptic Civic Democrats control the Senate.

"I will certainly not pressure anyone to vote for or against. The truth is that I would not bet even 100 koruny (6.45 dollars) on a Czech yes if the ratification were to take place now," CTK cited him as saying.

In Czech Republic, the Lisbon Treaty is being reviewed for its constitutionality by the nation's highest court, making the Czechs a key holdout after Irish voters rejected the pact this month.

Topolanek's pro-market Civic Democrats chiefly oppose the potential welfare obligations stemming from treaty's Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms. (dpa)