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That it?
Read more about: Lisbon Treaty
So the Polish President says he will not sign.
Polish president Lech Kaczynski has said he will not sign the EU’s Lisbon Treaty, saying it was pointless after Irish voters rejected it in a referendum last month.
“For the moment, the question of the treaty is pointless,” Mr Kaczynski was quoted as saying in the online version of the daily Dzienni
So is that it. Game over? Treaty rejected in two countries?
Mr Kaczynski warned EU leaders against trying to isolate or pressure Ireland. “If one breaks the rule of unanimity one time, it will never exist again. We’re not strong enough for this type of solution,” he said.
This caught my eye as well in the piece. The founding reason for the EU was to bring countries closer together to prevent war. I.E if Germany and France were in close union they would not fight. So if that principle more important then any other then does unanimity over rise any other concern? Or is Europe beyond that ideal and it is ok for all countries not to be as closely align to each other.
I think it’s gone beyong keeping France and Germany from fighting, though the two together are the engine of the European project.
The trouble with unanimity is that any single national government or leader can play national politics with the European project. That is exactly what’s happening in Poland. The President and his twin orinigally signed this treaty. But his / their party has been suffering at the polls. Now he is playing to his eurosceptic gallery. So unanimity allows this kind of opportunism to hold the entire Union to ransom.
On the other hand removal of unanimity means that in extreme cases a critical issue can go the wrong way for a member.
Regardless of the merits of Lisbon itself, that’s the place we are stuck now.
I just wonder if this was one Kaczynski blackmail too many(?)