Ratifications of the Lisbon Treaty. The importance of a formality!

(B2) To date, only six states - out of the dozen that have already ratified the Lisbon Treaty (map here)- have deposited their instrument of ratification with the Italian government (depositary - according to tradition - of European treaties). They are: Malta and Hungary (February 6), France (February 14), Romania (March 11), Slovenia (April 24), Bulgaria (April 28).

A deposit that has value! It is in fact the filing of the act of ratification which has sole legal value - in particular for the validity of the new treaty (in the month following the last filing of ratification, and at the earliest on 1 January 2009). This delay can be explained: a number of countries have just ratified in the second half of April, and in certain countries, after parliamentary ratification as such, the President still has to approve this signature.

A formality normally. But that becomes complicated when the president regularly opposes the prime minister, as is the case in Romania or Poland. In Poland, the case is particularly delicate. Since President Lech Kaczynski has not decided to approve this text until he obtains serious guarantees - through a national law - that his opt-out to the Charter of Fundamental Rights will be permanent.