Polish president throws the EU into new crisis as he declares: The Lisbon treaty is pointless

13 April 2012

Not enthusiastic: President of Poland Lech Kaczynski


Brussels suffered another major blow to the revived EU constitution yesterday when Poland's president refused to ratify it.

All 27 EU members must sign up to the Lisbon Treaty for it to go ahead.

Following the no vote in Ireland's referendum last month, EU leaders are desperate to put pressure on the Irish by getting the 26 other countries to approve it.

Poland's parliament gave it the green light in April, but the signature of the country's president, Lech Kaczynski, is essential for the constitution to be enshrined in Polish law.

He was asked whether, following Irish voters' rejection of the treaty, he would ratify it. Mr Kaczynski said: 'This is now pointless.'

And in a sign that he would not be bullied into backing down, he added: 'It is difficult to say how this whole thing will end.

'The bloc functioned, functions and will go on functioning. It's not perfect but such a complicated structure cannot be perfect.'

In a newspaper interview, he also warned EU leaders desperately searching for a way out of the crisis by sidelining Ireland: 'If one breaks the rule of unanimity one time it will never exist again.'

His remarks, which came as France took over the EU's six-month rotating presidency, won praise from eurosceptics, who are convinced that Brussels is trying to bully Ireland into voting again.

It also increased pressure on Gordon Brown, who denied British voters a say on the blueprint, which was rejigged after being rejected by voters in France and Holland in 2005.

Tory Europe spokesman Mark Francois said: 'President Kaczynski's courage and leadership in speaking out are a stark contrast to Gordon Brown's complete lack of either.

Celebration: The Eiffel Tower is illuminated in blue with gold stars, representing the EU flag, to mark the French European Union presidency

'President Kaczynski is speaking up for the rights of Irish voters. Gordon Brown has rammed this treaty through Parliament to put pressure on the Irish without any democratic mandate from the British people.

'It would be totally undemocratic if the Irish people were made to vote twice before the British people got to vote once.'

UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage said: 'To Euro nationalists, democracy is a hurdle which needs to be cleared and the will of the people something to be ignored. Thankfully there are some politicians left with an ounce of decency.'

The Eiffel Tower was lit up with the EU's gold stars yesterday to celebrate France's turn at the EU presidency. French president Nicolas Sarkozy warned that voters are losing faith in the project.

'Something isn't right at all,' he said. 'Europe worries people and, worse still, citizens are asking if it is not the nation state that protects them better than the Union.'

He will visit Dublin on July 21 to seek a solution.

Poland's refusal to ratify the constitution comes after both the Czech Republic and Germany delayed ratification until after legal challenges have been decided.

These are currently seen as mere formalities by Brussels but Ireland, and now Poland, present much bigger problems.

In a sign of the damage done by Mr Kaczyinski, Poland's pro-EU prime minister Donald Tusk urged him to think again.

Irish prime minister Brian Cowen has been given until the next EU summit in October to come back with ideas for saving the treaty.

Britain's formal ratification is likely to take place in the next few weeks.

A legal challenge to ratification by tycoon Stuart Wheeler on the grounds that Gordon Brown failed to hold a referendum was rejected last week, but he plans to appeal.

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