Polens Präsident wird Lissabon-Vertrag am Samstag unterzeichnen[en][fr] 

"The president will keep his promises. He declared that in the case of a 'yes' vote in the second Irish referendum his decision would also be positive," said Aleksander Szczygło, the president's head of security, on Polish television.

The news also appeared early this morning on the president's official website but was taken off the site within half an hour, EurActiv Hungary reports.

According to tabloid newspaper website Fakt, Kaczyński would like to sign the treaty in the presence of a "special delegation" including Polish European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek. However, "even if there are talks on the issue, it is not yet on Buzek's agenda," a member of the Parliament president's cabinet told EurActiv.

The Polish press had initially reported that Kaczyński could have signed the Lisbon Treaty yesterday (7 October), after his return from an official trip to Romania. In Bucharest he gave reassurances that "Poland will not be an obstacle to the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon," according to a statement on the presidential website.

Treaty to await last signature

After Kaczyński's signature, the Czech Republic will become the only EU country not to have ratified the text, which is still waiting for President Václav Klaus's approval (EurActiv 02/10/09). 

EU leaders are anxious to get the treaty fully ratified this year, before elections in the UK next spring which could see a triumph for Conservative leader David Cameron. Many in his party oppose Lisbon and are demanding a referendum on it (EurActiv 06/10/09).