Sejm split over pushing ahead with the European Constitution

The opposition has protested about working on a document, the text of which is to change, but Paweł Świeboda, director of the EU department at the ministry, says that the ratification procedure and correction of errors can take place at the same time. He added that errors were also found in translations to other languages. The government and the leftist parties which support it, want to push ahead with the ratification procedure so that a referendum on the Constitution can take place in the fall together with the first round of presidential elections. Meanwhile, the opposition is pushing for delaying of the whole procedure, including the referendum on the Constitution. The final result is uncertain, as the balance of power in the Sejm between the ruling leftist parties and the right-wing and peasant opposition is quite even. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A6) T.J.