French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s ambition to find a quick fix to the crisis sparked by Ireland’s veto of the EU’s Lisbon treaty is facing stiff resistance by the Polish and Czech presidents.
Straight off the bat at the July 1 start of France’s six-month presidency of the EU, both leaders of the two 2004 EU entrants made it clear the Irish “no” was not the only problem Paris was facing to get the Lisbon treaty, a crucial reform package for the 27-member bloc, back on track.
Poland’s conservative President Lech Kaczynski has said he won’t give the treaty his seal of approval as long as Ireland doesn’t change its mind. Populist eurosceptic Czech President Vaclav Klaus is lobbying for Prague’s parliament to scupper ratification.
Their positions cast doubt on the chances the treaty, rejected by Irish voters in a June 12 referendum, may gain the unanimous approval of the EU’s 27 member states which it must have to take effect.
“If Ireland makes another decision — but not under pressure, and without changing its constitution — in the same way as the first, then Poland will not place a block on the treaty,” Kaczynski said in an interview on Wednesday.
The Polish leader also termed the treaty — meant to streamline decision-making in a bloc which has grown from 15 to 27 members since 2004 — as “pointless.”
A museum in southern French city Marseille is inviting visitors to discover Europe’s relationship to the naturist lifestyle by wandering its halls in the nude. “It’s not every day you get to walk around a museum naked,” said Julie Guegnolle, 38, who was celebrating her birthday at the “Naturist Paradises” exhibition in the Museum of Civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean (Mucem). Once a month, visitors to Mucem can explore the history of naturism in Europe in only their shoes — a precaution not for modesty’s sake but simply to “avoid getting splinters,” said Eric Stefanut, head of French naturist organization
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They are the most fervent musicians no one has ever heard. Performers at this year’s Air Guitar World Championships in Finland on Friday tuned up at the Olympics of air guitar for the 27th time, featuring dedicated competitors like “Shred Lasso” and “Guitarantula.” This year’s challenge began on Wednesday with Airientation in Oulu, nearly 540km north of Helsinki, and was headlined by a class open to veterans and new guitarists alike. The Dark Horses Qualifications followed on Thursday, culminating with the World Championships Final on Friday night with the crowning of Canada’s Zachary “Ichabod Fame” Knowles as the 2024 Air Guitar World
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