A Polish No?

Mark Mardell|11:55 UK time, Tuesday, 1 July 2008

How important is the Polish president's interview with a newspaper stating that at the moment it is "pointless" to sign the Lisbon Treaty? Our man on the ground Adam Easton tells me that the constitution says that if parliament ratifies a treaty, as it has done, then the president must sign the ratification to bring it into force. But the constitution does not specify a time limit.

If the government wanted to push things they could take him to the state tribunal - but that is unlikely.

So at the moment, he can refuse to sign until or unless political pressure on him becomes too strong.

But if anyone has any other view on the legal position I would love to hear your thoughts.

My own feeling is that if the Irish are "persuaded" to vote again it is very much a side issue. But if the Irish government won't call for another vote, and other countries start to get heavy with them, it becomes very important indeed: the battle would then be between those who want to kill Lisbon and those who want to move on without Ireland.