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The office of Polish President Lech Kaczynski says he is set to sign
the European Union reform treaty, leaving the Czech Republic as the
last remaining holdout.
Mr. Kaczynski's office announced
Thursday that the signing would take place Saturday at a ceremony
attended by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
But Czech President Vaclav Klaus is putting up more resistance to the reform treaty.
The
EU's Swedish Presidency says Mr. Klaus wants to add a two-sentence
footnote to a part of the charter pertaining to fundamental rights
before signing it. The content of the proposed note was not
immediately clear.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner immediately rejected the idea.
Mr.
Klaus has been reluctant to approve the so-called Lisbon Treaty, citing
concerns that the reforms, meant to streamline EU decision making,
would diminish Czech sovereignty.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
