By Xinhua,
Paris : French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Tuesday he could not “imagine” that his Polish counterpart, Lech Kaczynski, who had signed the initial text of the Lisbon Treaty would refuse to ratify it.
“I cannot imagine that the president (Kaczynski) who signed the text in Brussels first, and then in Lisbon,” would refuse to sign it, Sarkozy told reporters as France began its six-month presidency of the EU on Tuesday.
Kaczynski had said earlier in the day that he will not sign the Lisbon Treaty into law.
The Polish parliament ratified the treaty in April, but must be signed by the president to become effective.
“For the moment, the question of the treaty is pointless,” Kaczynski said in an interview with the Polish daily Dziennin.
The Lisbon Treaty aims to streamline the EU’s institutions following its expansion.
Kaczynski’s refusal is a fresh challenge to Sarkozy who said on the eve of the French takeover of the EU presidency that his top priority would be to salvage the charter and urged EU members to continue the ratification process.
The treaty must be ratified by all 27 member states before it can come into effect. Irish voters rejected it in a referendum on June 13, plunging the EU into a crisis.