Polish, Czech presidents to discuss EU's reform treaty

Jul 24, 2008, 11:21 GMT

Prague - Polish and Czech leaders planned Friday to discuss the future of the European Union's reform treaty, which the Czech president declared dead after Irish voters rejected it.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski's visit to Prague has led to speculation that he will urge his Czech counterpart Vaclav Klaus to support the Lisbon Treaty, which neither country has ratified.

The two leaders were to discuss 'developments in the European Union after rejection of the Lisbon Treaty in Ireland' over dinner Thursday, Klaus's office said.

Klaus is a longtime critic of the EU accord, designed to streamline decision-making in the expanded 27-nation bloc. He says it's too federalist and too much like a European constitution.

Klaus had previously pledged not to block the treaty but called it dead as soon as Irish voters rejected it in a June 12 referendum. Since then, he has left open whether he would sign the pact if the Czech parliament approves it.

Kaczynski also has not signed the treaty, but Poland is a step further because parliament has ratified it. In the Czech Republic, the country's supreme court is reviewing whether the Lisbon Treaty is constitutional.

The Polish leader, also seen as a eurosceptic and treaty critic, is an unlikely advocate.

He initially called his signing of the accord 'pointless' but soon assured French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who launched efforts to rescue the treaty, that Poland will not stand in the way.

Approval by all EU members is needed for the treaty to take effect. So far, parliaments of 20 countries have endorsed it.