“If Ireland Declines, You Must Not Sign!”

Who’da thunk the Irish had that much influence in Europe?

Faith and begorrah, the Poles and the Germans are having second thoughts about the Lisbon Treason Treaty.

It seems the Irish defiance opened the gates to the corral and there may be no retrieving some of the other restless horses after all. First the Poles [my emphasis below — D]:

Polish President Lech Kaczynski announced in an interview published Tuesday that he will not sign the EU’s Lisbon Treaty, saying it was pointless after Irish voters rejected it in a referendum last month.

“For the moment, the question of the treaty is pointless,” Kaczynski was quoted as saying in the online version of the daily Dziennik.

The Polish parliament voted in April to ratify the Lisbon Treaty, a key reform treaty meant to streamline EU decision-making, but it needs the signature of the president to become definitive.

[…]

Kaczynksi’s refusal to ratify the treaty is a serious blow to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has set himself the task with finding a way of overcoming the Irish rejection of the treaty as France takes over the six-month rotating EU presidency on Tuesday.

Well, that makes it even more interesting. Sarkozy is a charismatic fellow to some, and he may think he has a better chance of rounding up the mustangs than the other cowboys. That remains to be seen...

Meanwhile, the Germans are doing a slower gallop off the EU ranch, via their Constitutional Court:
- - - - - - - - -

German President Horst Koehler will not sign off on the ratification of the embattled EU’s Lisbon Treaty until the country’s Constitutional Court decides whether the reform accord is compatible with the country’s Basic Law, his office said on Monday, June 30.

Koehler has decided to heed a request from the Constitutional Court not to add his signature to the embattled reform treaty pending its ruling, his office said in a statement.

Koehler’s functions are mainly ceremonial, but he has sometimes used his limited powers to block government legislation.

[…]

Koehler’s move has put Germany in a tricky situation given that the European heavyweight had pressed EU nations to ratify the treaty as soon as possible after the Irish rejection.

Sooo…that’s three down and how many to go before the stampede begins?

Anybody got a pool going on this one?


Hat tip: Queen of Bohemia