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The late Lech Kaczynski signs the Polish bill ratifying the treaty on 10 October 2009, using a second pen (Photo: prezydent.pl)

Lisbon Treaty survived Polish comedy of errors

The late Polish president Lech Kaczynski made his ratification of the Lisbon Treaty into a piece of political theatre. But a little-known final scene could have posed a ticklish legal question for the EU, EUobserver has learned.

With the Irish Yes vote in the bag after a referendum on 3 October last year, Brussels held its breath for the final signatures from the eurosceptic Mr Kaczynski and his even more eurosceptic Czech counterpart, Vaclav Klaus, to wrap up the ratification process.<...

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.

The late Lech Kaczynski signs the Polish bill ratifying the treaty on 10 October 2009, using a second pen (Photo: prezydent.pl)

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.

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