Poland poses latest problem for EU

[[R_H]]

BBC

As Poland becomes the latest country to erect a stumbling block in the path of the EU's Lisbon Treaty, the BBC's Adam Easton, in Warsaw, examines why.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski's announcement that he will not yet sign the Lisbon Treaty highlights the competing power centres in the EU's largest new member and their different approaches to Europe.

In this particular case, Mr Kaczynski may well end up having the final say because, even though the Polish parliament has already approved it, he must sign it to complete the ratification process.

But Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk - who actually shapes much of the country's foreign policy - says EU leaders should search for ways to implement the Lisbon Treaty.

Asked by the newspaper Dziennik whether he would ratify the Lisbon Treaty, Mr Kaczynski replied: "At this moment, it's pointless". He did not rule out ratifying it in the future.

"It's difficult to say how this will end. However, it's not serious to say, 'if there is no treaty, there is no EU'... The EU worked, is working and will work," he told the newspaper.

Mr Kaczynski's comments are not entirely surprising because, like his twin brother Jaroslaw, the country's former prime minister, he is against deeper European integration.

"The president wants to position himself as the defender of the remnants of Polish sovereignty because it appeals to a quarter to a third of the electorate," Pawel Swieboda, director of an EU think-tank, DemosEuropa, told me.

Both brothers would also be happy to see the Nice Treaty - which currently governs the way the EU operates and gives Poland disproportionate strength - remain in force for a while longer.

The Lisbon Treaty would reduce Poland's voting strength.

Sharp divisions

The president has also played on fears here that the Lisbon Treaty and its Charter of Fundamental Rights would force staunchly Roman Catholic Poland to adopt homosexual marriages and a more liberal abortion law.

In a televised address to the nation, he even suggested that the charter would make it easier for Germans to reclaim property they lost during and after World War II.

But Mr Kaczynski's comments reveal the sharp division between himself and his government.

Prime Minister Tusk, like the majority of the public here, is broadly enthusiastic about the EU.

In a survey conducted earlier this month, 70% of Poles said EU membership was positive, and 69% said it had improved the country's international position.

Shortly after the Irish referendum, Mr Tusk said Europe would find a way to implement the Lisbon Treaty.

Time limit

It is not exactly clear who has the upper hand in this dispute.

The Polish constitution says that once the parliament has ratified a treaty, the president must sign it. But the constitution does not specify a time limit.

In practice, Lech Kaczynski could continue to refuse to sign the ratification.

The government's recourse would be to take the matter to the State Tribunal but, after the Irish referendum, that seems rather unlikely.

"The government is what matters here. Mr Kaczynski will not have much of a bearing on this process. He can be an irritant, but he's just undermining his own influence," Mr Swieboda says.

"After today's interview I think Mr Kaczynski is simply not going to be a player in European politics."

However, on the day France takes over the EU presidency, its leaders might be forgiven for wondering what is the official Polish policy.

[K. A. Pital]

Saw that a while ago on Russian news. But after all the stunts the Kaczynskis pulled, that's not a big wonder. And then Poland wonders why the EU is not keen to support it's position in various trade rows with Russia. Here's the answer... when a team member suddenly turns around and pisses on the team, what does he expect in return...

[Darth Wong]

Why was it so important to add Poland to the EU? They're acting like a bunch of hillbillies.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Why was it so important to add Poland to the EU? They're acting like a bunch of hillbillies.

I think it was a combination of US support, plus anti-communism, and some grand dream of a greater Europe.

In truth, the addition of Poland benefited the Poles more than the Europeans in general.

[Hillary]

Why was it so important to add Poland to the EU?

We were running short of builders, plumbers and roofers. And judging by the change in the demographics of public transport cleaners, they also appear to accept even lower wages than African immigrants.

Colonisation and slavery are now politically unacceptable, but this is the next best thing.

[PeZook]

In truth, the addition of Poland benefited the Poles more than the Europeans in general.

...and yet we constantly deny that fact

You know what's best?

A year ago, the negotiating of the current form of the Lisbon treaty was a great success of the Kaczynski government. We got what we wanted to! Hurray for premier Kaczynski, the stalwart fighter against evil Europe!

And now, when the new premier enthusiastically pushes for the Lisbon Treaty, it's suddendly not in Poland's best interest to sign it. I strongly suspect the president is obstructing the treaty simply to spite Tusk, who crushed his brother's party in the last election. He's a small man with a huge ego, after all.

And christ, that televised adress was ugly. They pretty much implied Germany was going to invade us again if we signed the treaty.

[Colonel Olrik]

Why was it so important to add Poland to the EU? They're acting like a bunch of hillbillies.

Historical guilt from the part of the Germans and Western Europe in general. Which is quickly being rectified by the Germans now figuring out that the old-age jokes about Polish people mostly correspond to the truth.

[K. A. Pital]

They pretty much implied Germany was going to invade us again if we signed the treaty.

Ouch. I guess your government will have to learn the "don't bite the hand that feeds you" rule the hard way...

[PeZook]

Ouch. I guess your government will have to learn the "don't bite the hand that feeds you" rule the hard way...

He was talking about the Lisbon treaty and then the screen showed an administrative map of the Third Reich and played music from a famous Polish TV series about the war.

Subtle, ain't it? He could've just as well said "Germans are coming to eat our babies" outright.

I sometimes think he has a list he ticks off every day:

Code: Select all

Morning - piss off Germany
Noon - make sure Russians hate our guts 
Afternoon - annnoy the US 
Evening - anger the rest of the EU
Hand written note below: This will prove we're a tough country which won't take shit from anyone RAR! Now I can pat myself on the back and pretend to be the best Polish leader since Boleslaw III Sobieski.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

I sometimes think he has a list he ticks off every day:

Code: Select all

Morning - piss off Germany
Noon - make sure Russians hate our guts 
Afternoon - annnoy the US 
Evening - anger the rest of the EU
Hand written note below: This will prove we're a tough country which won't take shit from anyone RAR! Now I can pat myself on the back and pretend to be the best Polish leader since Boleslaw III Sobieski.

It almost sounds like he has anger/ego issues.

[PeZook]

It almost sounds like he has anger/ego issues.

I'm almost certain of that. Once, he called a staff meeting with the entire government. The presidentin Poland is nominally the boss, but the government has more real power. So he calls the meeting, which you normally do to figure out status of various initiatives, suggest something or see how your pet project is doing, etc.

He spends the first hour and a half quarelling with the premier over who can preside over what parts of the meeting, who can give the floor to which ministers etc.

All in diplo-speak, but in reality, it looked like the Shroomanian Parliament in its total absurdity. Now he wants to sign a "Competence Charter" with the ruling party, which will say exactly what his competences are. Because, you know, the constitution isn't good enough, and the Constitutional Tribunal is unreasonable anyway, constantly ruling against the president's brother when he proposed blatantly unconstitutional bills! Everyone is out to get us! The new government won elections thanks to the horribly unfair and biased media (which are now criticizing the new government too, but who cares?)! The Russians conspire with Germany to steal our pipes!

[Vympel]

And here I thought Germany sold its MiG-29s to Poland for the symbolic price of one Euro, and also has offloaded a lot of Leopard 2A4 tanks. You'd think that sort of military aid would prevent the government from sounding the invasion alarm ...

[PeZook]

And here I thought Germany sold its MiG-29s to Poland for the symbolic price of one Euro, and also has offloaded a lot of Leopard 2A4 tanks. You'd think that sort of military aid would prevent the government from sounding the invasion alarm ...

No, no! They're evil.

All Germans are evil. And they're suing people to get their properties back, and courts agree with them!

THE COURTS ARE EVIL TOO THE GERMANS ARE COMING HERE TO EAT OUR BABIES AND RAPE OUR GRANDMOTHERS AND MAKE US MARRY GAYS!!!

You should hear the tirades about the Jews and the EU and the evil Germans and Russians some people here can launch into ; Mostly elderly devout Catholics. That means whoever plays that card well and shows off his catholicness the most gets 10-15% of the votes automatically.

[Admiral Valdemar]

The Germans were behind two world wars. Clearly there's nothing stopping them trying again, therefore, fear Germany.

[ShadowRider77]

...That means whoever plays that card well and shows off his catholicness the most gets 10-15% of the votes automatically.

Somehow, this is making me feeling a little less lonely...just replace "10-15%" with "40%" and it's just like my cozy home...

More seriously, as far as I could gather, those Kaczinsky bros always struck me as quite wacky. I still remember when they tried to get more delegates in the Euro Parliament claiming that "We would be 100 millions if not for invasion from eeee-vil Germans!"...

What I find interesting, from my limited POW, is how the media in my country usually cover those things. Being catholic-oriented, they would happily support the Kacz. agains the protestant Germans. At the same time, though, Mr. Berlusconi is constantly trying to get recognition and acceptance for himself and his party from the other conservative forces in Europe, Merkel's CDU on top, and for sure they (the Italian Media, I mean) don't want to upset him, so they have a quite narrow path...Usually, they try to ignore the topic at all, but when they do talk about it's almost funny, you can feel how every word has been weighted and balanced to make the least possible damage...

Not really important in itself, but those days I have to dig my fun from wherever I can find a bit...

[ShadowRider77]

POW was supposed to be POV, of course, since I am not yet a Prisoner and where I live there is not yet a War...