The future of the Lisbon Treaty lies in the
hands of Ireland, whose voters rejected the pact in a June referendum, the
Czech and Polish presidents said Thursday.
The dinner meeting between Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his Czech
counterpart Vaclav Klaus at the Lany Chateau outside Prague has not changed the
opinion of the Czech president, who declared the treaty dead following the
Irish no.
"Without a change of the Irish result it makes no sense to further talk
about it," CTK news agency cited Klaus as saying.
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.
Kaczynski's visit has led to speculation that he will urge his Czech
counterpart to support the Lisbon Treaty. Neither the Czech Republic nor Poland
have ratified the pact.
The Polish leader, who is also seen as a eurosceptic and treaty critic,
repeated Thursday his earlier vow not to block the pact but also pointed out
that the ball is in Ireland's court.
"The key lies in the change of Ireland's position. There is no treaty
without Ireland, but Poland will not obstruct ratification," CTK quoted
him as saying.
In Poland, the pact was ratified by parliament and awaits Kaczynski's
signature.
Kaczynski initially called his signing of the accord "pointless" but
recently assured French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who launched efforts to
rescue the treaty, that Poland will not stand in the way.
The Czech Republic is several steps behind. Ratification in parliament is on
hold until the country's constitutional court completes a review of whether the
Lisbon Treaty is constitutional.
Klaus had previously pledged not to obstruct 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.
Approval by all EU members is needed for the treaty to take effect. So far, parliaments of 20 countries have endorsed it, dpa reported.
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