Ireland holds key to Lisbon future, say Czech and Polish presidents

Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his Czech counterpart Václav Klaus have said Ireland has a key role to play in the future of the Lisbon Treaty, following Irish voters’ rejection of the document. The two heads of state said that resolving the issue would require time and patience. After talks at the Czech presidential residence at Lány near Prague on Thursday, Mr Kaczynski said without Ireland’s ratification Lisbon did not exist. But he said Poland would not impede ratification of the treaty, which is intended to reform the running of the European Union. For his part, Mr Klaus, who is a euro-sceptic, is firmly opposed to further EU integration; he welcomed the Irish “No” vote last month.

The Czech Parliament is due to vote on the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon towards the end of this year, after the Czech Constitutional Court rules on whether it is in line with the Czech constitution.