 Poland deals new blow to French EU presidency
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-07-02 07:42 Polish President Lech Kaczynski compounded the problems facing the European Union on the first day of France's presidency of the bloc yesterday, saying he will not sign the Union's reform treaty for now. Kaczynski said it would be "pointless" signing the treaty following its rejection by Irish voters in a referendum on June 12. The treaty, intended to overhaul the bloc's institutions, needs the backing of all 27 member states to come into force. Kaczynski, a Euroskeptic, helped negotiate the treaty but his party is now in opposition. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said ratification of the Lisbon Treaty was in Poland's interest. Kaczynski's comments highlighted the problems facing President Nicolas Sarkozy at the start of France's six-month tenure of the EU's rotating presidency. Asked by the daily Dziennik if he would sign the treaty - the last step needed for full ratification in Poland - he said: "This is now pointless. But it is difficult to say how this whole thing will end." In Paris, a senior official in Sarkozy's office said France believed Kaczynski and Czech President Vaclav Klaus could be brought around to signing if they were told clearly there would be no further EU enlargement without the institutional reforms. "For a country like Poland, the best argument is enlargement ... It was a grave mistake to enlarge the EU in 2004 before reforming its institutions. That enlargement has gone well but we are not going to repeat that mistake," he said. Poland's prime minister, Tusk, said the treaty should be ratified. "We are convinced the treaty's ratification is in Poland's best interest ... It is hard to accept a situation where Poland would be put in the same position as Ireland, a very troublesome position," Tusk told a news conference. Both Poland and the Czech Republic wanted the EU to admit new members in the Balkans, starting with Croatia, and eventually expand further east to embrace Ukraine. That gave the French presidency leverage to get the treaty ratified. Poland's parliament gave the green light to the treaty in April. Kaczynski delayed signing it but had previously said ratification by Poland was a foregone conclusion. He compared the bloc's situation to 2005 when French and Dutch voters rejected a more far-reaching EU constitution, which was later reworked into the Lisbon Treaty. "The bloc functioned, functions and will go on functioning. It's not perfect but such a complicated structure cannot be perfect," Kaczynski said. Irish voters rejected the Lisbon Treaty for reasons ranging from the fact they considered the text incomprehensible to concerns it would bring higher taxes or legalized abortion. EU leaders meeting in October are due to hear from Ireland's prime minister on how to move forward after the "No" vote. The treaty is intended to give the EU a stronger leadership, a more effective foreign policy and a fairer decision-making system. It would create a powerful new foreign policy chief and a president of the European Council, its highest political body. Agencies (China Daily 07/02/2008 page12) |
