President Lech Kaczynski will not sign the Lisbon Treaty today because he wants time to organize a celebratory event. But the doument will be signed in a matter of days, says an aid.

 

The president of Poland is delaying signing the Lisbon Treaty Ratification Bill, not out of political conscience, it was announced today, but because he wants to set up a celebratory event.

 

“We want to organize an official celebration in order to give the event due distinction,” stated Pawel Wypych, a minister in the Presidential Chancellery, adding that the signing will likely take place in the Belwedere Palace in Warsaw and be attended by many significant guests.

 

Speculation began in the press yesterday that Kaczynski would ratify the treaty today after Ireland voted ‘Yes’in last Friday’s referendum, as they did.

 

“Please arm yourselves with patience. The Treaty will definitely be ratified by the President,” stated Wypych, adding that it “definitely won’t happen today as we are abroad and will return late in the evening. It would be difficult for the President to sign it onboard an airplane.”

 

The minister said the Presidential Chancellery needs time for “technically preparing the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty.”

 

“The Treaty is very important. We do not want to reduce the importance of the event,” added Wypych.

Jerzy Buzek, head of the European Parliament, is expected to attend the ratification celebration, among other important figures in Poland’s government, on a yet-to-be-determined date. President Kaczynski and Czech President Vaclav Klaus are the only remaining heads of state in Europe to not have signed the Lisbon Treaty.

Meanwhile, the Czech prime minister, Jan Fischer told  European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso today that he fully expects President Vaclav Klaus to sign up to the Lisbon Treaty “sometime this year.”

The document is currently beign studied by the Constitutional Tribunal in Prague to see if it is compatible with Czech Law. (mmj/pg)