This week the last holdout, Czech President Vaclav Klaus, signed the Lisbon Treaty into law. The Treaty is now expected to take legal effect on December 1, 2009, nearly eight years after EU leaders first sat down at the Laeken Summit in 2001 to discuss the need for a new treaty.

The Lisbon Treaty, also referred to as the Reform Treaty, will give the EU "legal personality" and streamline the rule-making process in Brussels.

Under the new voting structure the number of votes apportioned to each country will be based upon population. As a result Poland will see its voting power in the Council reduced. Other changes include the creation of a more permanent EU Presidency, with the term in office lasting 2 1/2 years, as opposed to the current 6 month rotating presidency. The Polish Parliament, together with the parliaments of each member country, however, will in fact gain influence over EU legislation under the Reform Treaty.

Previously the EU did not need to consult national parliaments. Now all of this has changed. The parliaments of member states will now be able to object to draft EU legislation before its enactment. Many other changes abound, including the creation of a European Public Prosecutor, initially empowered to prosecute financial crimes against EU interests, with the understanding that this agency's scope of powers would most likely be expanded to include criminal (penal) crimes as well. Previously the prosecution of such crimes was limited to member states. 
 
In mid-November Sweden, the current holder of the revolving presidency, is expected to call a special summit of EU leaders to quickly take the necessary steps to implement the changes called for by the Reform Treaty.
 
-- Paul B. Fogo

Last month, the Irish electorate derailed what was supposed to be a rubber stamp approval of the new “Reform Treaty” following defeat of the EU Constitution more than two years earlier at the hands of the French and Dutch voters. Not to risk the same fate as the draft Constitution two years earlier, each member state (with the notable exception of Ireland) agreed not to submit ratification of the Reform Treaty to their electorates, but rather to leave such approval to their respective governments. The Irish, however, were required to submit the Reform Treaty to public vote due to the requirements of the Irish Constitution. 

Now that the ratification process has had a monkey wrench thrown into it by the Irish rejection of the Reform Treaty, some other EU member states who have not yet ratified the Reform Treaty are having second thoughts. The Polish government has ratified the Reform Treaty; however, President Kaczyński has publicly announced that he no longer sees a rush to actually sign off on the ratification. After all, what is the point if all member states must ratify the Reform Treaty in order for it to become binding law, and Ireland has already said no?

Last week, President Kaczyński met with French President Sarkozy. After their meeting the Polish President announced that he would not be an obstacle to ratification of the Reform Treaty, and that he would sign off on the Reform Treaty “at the appropriate time” after consulting with other leaders. I have no idea what he meant by “at the appropriate time”. Nor do most commentators understand what the Polish President hopes to gain by delaying signing. At least in Poland recent polls show that more than 70 percent of the population supports ratification of the Reform Treaty. So the question needs to be asked: What is our President waiting for? Less anyone forgets, this is the same President who signed the Reform Treaty last December on behalf of Poland. And now he is hesitating to ratify the same Reform Treaty into law? Why?

Paul B. Fogo