POLAND:POLAND'S PRIME minister vowed yesterday to do his utmost to avoid a referendum in his country on the European Union's reform treaty after being grilled by anxious EU leaders at a summit.
Powerful anti-EU nationalists in Poland's opposition Law and Justice party are demanding a referendum, suddenly complicating an expected smooth ratification of the treaty by the bloc's biggest east European member.
Speaking after the EU summit, Poland's Donald Tusk said EU leaders had expressed concern at the situation in his country. "All my interlocutors asked me what's going on," he told a news conference.
Any referendum in Poland could trigger calls for similar plebiscites in other EU nations, notably Britain, and delay ratification across the bloc.
Only Ireland is bound by its Constitution to hold a vote.
EU leaders hope the treaty, which aims to overhaul the bloc's institutions and improve decisionmaking, will take effect next January before European Parliament elections in mid-2009. "A referendum is the last resort," Mr Tusk said. -