Brussels, 09/10/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 9 October, Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski restated the Polish request for legal upgrading of the Ioannina compromise in the future new EU treaty. “We want the Ioannina compromise to have force of law. There are several ways to achieve this, for example a protocol would be entirely satisfactory for us”, Mr Kaczynski told the Polish radio. In the draft treaty approved last week by the legal experts of member states (EUROPE 9514), the Ioannina mechanism appears in the political statements that accompany the treaty. The mechanism therefore has the same legal value as a decision and can be amended by the member states without amendments to the treaty. Warsaw suggests placing Ioannina in Protocol No 10 annexed to the treaty (that which also covers qualified majority votes in Council), which would give it the same legal value as the treaty. Most of the other member states object to this. The question should be tackled on 15 October by the General Affairs Council but the final decision will no doubt be up to the European leaders themselves, during the Lisbon summit on 19 October. On Monday, during his visit to Paris, Polish President Lech Kaczynski said he was optimistic about the chances of reaching an agreement. “I am convinced that we shall manage to come to an understanding (…). I think the chances of success in Lisbon are 95-98%”, he said. (hb)