The Eurosceptic Czech President, Vaclav Klaus, wants a new two-sentence footnote
to be added to the EU's Lisbon Treaty before signing it, Sweden says.

The new condition came up during a phone conversation between Mr Klaus and
Swedish PM Fredrik Reinfeldt, current holder of the EU presidency.

Mr Reinfeldt said the requested footnote was linked to the EU's Charter of
Fundamental Rights.

Poland's president is to sign Lisbon in a ceremony on Saturday, officials say.

Poland and the Czech Republic are the only EU states yet to ratify the treaty,
which is aimed at streamlining EU institutions, to improve decision-making in
the enlarged 27-nation bloc.

The treaty has a reference to the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which covers a
wide range of EU citizens' rights. The charter will become legally binding once
Lisbon enters into force, although the UK has an opt-out from it.

Mr Klaus has refused to sign the treaty until the Czech Constitutional Court
rules on a new legal complaint against it, lodged by senators allied to him.

According to Mr Reinfeldt, Mr Klaus also wants the new footnote adopted by the
European Council, the grouping of EU heads of state and prime ministers.

"I told him this is the wrong message at the wrong time for the EU. I told him
clearly it is his ink on the paper that counts and I don't want this to delay
the treaty going through as soon as possible," said Mr Reinfeldt, quoted by
Reuters news agency.

The Czech president told him he would sign Lisbon if he got the extra footnote
and if the Czech Constitutional Court rejected the senators' legal challenge, Mr
Reinfeldt said.

"We need clarification on exactly what he [President Klaus] is asking for," he
added.

Mr Klaus's demand came only a day after the Czech Prime Minister, Jan Fischer,
said he was confident ratification would be complete by the end of the year.

Polish signing ceremony

The BBC's Dominic Hughes in Brussels says EU leaders will see the latest
objection as another delaying tactic.

They will be unlikely to go along with such a request, which runs the risk of
opening up the whole ratification process once again - something they are
desperate to avoid, our correspondent says.

Mr Reinfeldt appeared baffled and a little angry about the latest development,
he adds.

In Poland, President Lech Kaczynski's chief of staff Wladyslaw Stasiak said "the
president will sign the treaty on Saturday at noon (1000 GMT)". EU leaders will
attend the ceremony.

Earlier, there had been confusion about the president's intentions, with another
aide saying the signing would be on Sunday.

The treaty cleared a major hurdle on 2 October when voters in the Republic of
Ireland backed it overwhelmingly, in a second referendum. Lisbon is aimed at
streamlining EU institutions.

President Kaczynski, a Eurosceptic, had said he would wait for the Irish voters'
verdict before signing the treaty.

EU leaders are anxious to get the treaty fully ratified this year - well before
UK elections 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.

EU governments see the treaty as fundamental to the 27-nation bloc's future
success. Without it, they argue, the EU's decision-making processes will remain
slow and cumbersome, because they date back to when the EU consisted of only 15
nations.

Opponents see Lisbon as part of a federalist agenda that threatens national
sovereignty.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8297757.stm