A quote from the Open Europe Press Summary, 15 July 2008

According to Gazeta Wyborcza, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his Polish counterpart Lech Kaczynski may have struck a backstage deal at the Paris summit on 13 July, in which Warsaw would agree to ratify the Lisbon Treaty in return for the preservation of Poland's historic shipyards.

The European Commission will make a statement on 16 July about state aid in the case of three Polish shipyards - "from the point of view of European law, the chances for a favourable decision are slim", notes the article.  Warsaw is reported to be attempting to push the decision on the shipyards to a political level, in the EU Council. "It is possible that if President Lech Kaczynski promised Nicolas Sarkozy, his French counterpart, that he will sign the treaty, the French president could, with Germany's support, try to exert pressure on the Council and the individual EU capitals to accommodate Poland," the newspaper notes.