President's pledge on Lisbon treaty

President Lech Kaczynski of Poland has told President Nicolas Sarkozy that his country will not block ratification of a European Union reform treaty, the French presidential office said yesterday. "The Polish president affirmed that Poland would not be an obstacle to the ratification of the treaty," Mr Sarkozy's office said. That was later confirmed by Mr Kaczynski's office. Mr Kaczynski said earlier this week it would be "pointless" to sign the Lisbon treaty after it was rejected by Irish voters in a referendum on June 12 and that Warsaw would not ratify it unless Ireland managed to overcome its voters' opposition to it. The treaty, which needs the backing of all 27 member states to come into force, aims to give the EU a stronger leadership, a more effective foreign policy and fairer... [read full story]