eurealist.co.uk

They’ll be persuaded in the end - is the opinion expressed by French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner at the news that the Polish president Lech Kaczynski has indicated he will not sign the Lisbon treaty until Ireland gets over its No vote, the German president Horst Koehler is also refusing to sign the Treaty until the country’s Constitutional Court rules on two legal challenges, and problems with ratifying in the Czech Republic where the government is also struggling with a constitutional court challenge and a EUsceptic majority in the parliament’s Senate, on top of a having the most EUsceptice of all EU leaders as president.

The French who took over the presidency of the EU today did have plans to take forward further political integration in the spheres of more harmonised tax rates, joint EU defence, illegal immigrants, global warming and addressing the effects of rising oil prices.

The first two of these; harmonised tax rates and joint EU defence were leading problems in the Irish No vote, it is unlikely that the French will want to push ahead with these plans when the only legal way the Treaty can come into force will be if the Irish hold another referendum. When by doing so they would be confirming the Irish No camps original objections.

Instead the French will be concentrating on applying as much pressure as possible to the Irish government, one way is to halt all enlargements and blame it on the Irish - Bernard Kouchner said

“What use is it to take, say, three more countries into the EU, if we’re blocked and can’t proceed with political integration?”

At least he is honest about the aim of the EU which is clearly political integration. (Mr Brown please take note)

So the messages coming from Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic will not be welcomed by the French who can see that it will become difficult to isolate the Irish if the Polish are linking their ratification to the Irish outcome and two other countries are also holding back, in Germany’s case until early next year when the Constitutional court will decide.

The Polish President Lech Kaczynski has also said that the principle of unanimity is binding on the EU and there is no way he could agree to breaking that clause.

“The principle of unanimity is binding here, Poland must protect small EU countries’ rights as it is not a major power itself. “If the principle of unanimity is broken once it will cease to exist for ever. We are too weak to accept this kind of solution.”

And with a clear statment that he will not allow the power of Poland to be sidlined by a treaty that gives greater power to the larger states he said;

“My politics is a way to make sure the telephone number of the Polish president or prime minister is frequently used by Berlin, Paris, London or other capitals,”

EUOBSERVER

tag: Lisbon Treaty, European constitution, EU institutions, Czech Republic, principle of unanimity