The last hurdles for the Lisbon treaty — and to Tony Blair’s chance of becoming Europe’s first president — seemed to fall away yesterday when the Poles pledged to sign and the Czech President warned David Cameron that it was “too late” for him to stop the document taking effect. Vaclav Klaus signalled that he would pass the treaty once it had been reassessed by the Czech Constitutional Court, a process which could take some weeks but is unlikely to last until May or June, when Mr Cameron hopes to take power and then hold a referendum.

With the Polish President, Lech Kaczynski, also saying yesterday that he would ratify following the emphatic approval of the treaty by Ireland in its re-run referendum, it could come into force as soon as January 1.

EU leaders hope to decide upon both their new president and foreign minister, the position of High Representative also created by the treaty, at their summit in Brussels at the end of this month. The decisions could well be provisional, however, pending President Klaus’s final assent. The Czech Constitutional Court will announce in two weeks’ time a timetable for its latest inquiry, demanded by senators close to President Klaus and widely seen as a delaying tactic.

British Conservatives hoping that the mercurial Czech President will keep the treaty alive long enough for them to win power and call a British referendum seem likely to be disappointed.

Asked after an anti-treaty march in Prague whether he had a message for Britain, President Klaus said: “I am afraid that the people of Britain should have been doing something really much earlier and not just now, too late, saying something and waiting for my decision.”

Jan Fischer, the Czech Prime Minister, will attend talks in Brussels on Wednesday designed to keep up the pressure on his President to ratify.

Besides the two new jobs, the treaty creates an External Action Service for the EU — effectively a Foreign Office, with embassies around the world.

Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President, was quick to call for ratification by the two EU nations, Poland and the Czech Republic, that have yet to give it. “France wants the states which have not yet done so to finish the ratification procedure as quickly as possible so that the Lisbon treaty can be implemented before the end of the year, as the 27 \ promised,” Mr Sarkozy said.

He asked Sweden, which holds the rotating EU presidency, “to take all necessary initiatives so that the Lisbon treaty quickly comes into force”.

A spokesman for President Kaczynski said that he would sign the Lisbon treaty Bill, which has already cleared parliament, “without undue delay”, although he set no date.

Fredrik Reinfeldt, the Swedish Prime Minister, said that his meeting in Brussels with Mr Fischer and José Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission, would “decide the action to take to advance the situation”.

Mr Reinfeldt will begin preparing a shortlist for president and foreign minister and hopes to keep each to two or three names, The Times understands.

But a more fundamental decision has to be taken by the EU leaders — do they want an internationally known figure who is readily recognised in Washington, Moscow and Beijing, such as Tony Blair, or do they want a more low-key chairman?

Some leaders may not want to be put in the shade by someone with such obvious global presence as the former British Prime Minister, while others are urging the EU to think big and give Mr Blair the chance to make the most of the job.

A range of names besides Mr Blair has been suggested, including several current Prime Ministers: Jan Peter Balkenende of the Netherlands, François Fillon of France and Jean-Claude Juncker of Luxembourg. Other former leaders under discussion include Felipe González of Spain, Wolfgang Schüssel of Austria, Mary Robinson of Ireland and Paavo Lipponen of Finland.

Fresh from his first real success since becoming Irish leader in May last year, the Taioseach, Brian Cowen, yesterday signalled that Mr Blair could expect Irish backing.

“Tony is highly respected in this country,” he said. “He made a wonderful contribution during his premiership in relation to the peace process, providing peace and stability in this country. I have certainly the highest regard for Tony Blair. If he is a candidate, you can take it that we would be very supportive.”

Mr Cowen acknowledged that Ireland’s deepest recession in decades was the principal factor behind its pro-treaty vote, with 67 per cent in favour.

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