Luxembourg - European Union governments called for calm and
unity in the face of crisis, but said it was up to Ireland to find a
solution to the fallout caused by its no to the Lisbon Treaty.
Meeting Monday for the first time since Irish voters rejected the
bloc's proposed new rules, EU foreign ministers resisted calls for a
'two-speed Europe', whereby only willing member states would go ahead
with closer integration.
Instead, they declared the Lisbon Treaty 'alive' and said they
should be given time to think things through.
'We must find a way to unblock the current situation together with
Ireland,' said German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose
country many turn to during times of crises.
'We won't find a solution overnight,' he added.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, whose country assumes
the rotating presidency of the EU on July 1, said that despite the
Irish no, the ratification process should continue.
Summing up Monday's discussions, British Foreign Minister David
Miliband said three broad themes had emerged: 'Respect for the Irish
vote; recognition that the Irish government has asked for some time
to analyse the result and decide the next move; and a commitment that
Europe needs to stick together.'
And while Austria's Ursula Plassnik said it would be unfair to
corner Ireland, Denmark's Per Stig Moeller said that since the Irish
government had signed the treaty, it was now up to her to find a
solution.
The reform treaty was agreed by governments after two years of
wrangling following a botched attempt to create a more ambitious EU
constitution.
But it was rejected on Thursday by 53.4 per cent of the Irish
voters who took part in the country's referendum, thus throwing the
bloc into a period of confusion and uncertainty.
Though 18 national parliaments have already said yes to Lisbon,
the treaty cannot come into force until it is ratified by all 27
member states.
'The whole process started in May 2000 ... and here we are eight
years later still struggling to get the treaty through. The
challenges that we face have gone nowhere,' complained Finnish
Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb.
The EU executive has commissioned a survey to try and find out
what went wrong in Ireland, and most ministers concurred on Monday
that Dublin would know best.
'There will not be any attempt from the outside, from member
states or from Brussels, to influence or push the Irish government in
some way,' said Latvia's Maris Riekstins.
'Further action and decisions will only be possible once the Irish
themselves come out with their vision of how they intend to go
further,' he added.
So far, no one has openly called for the creation of an expanded
two-speed Europe, along the lines of the common currency (the euro)
and free-movement area (Schengen), both of which are used in some,
but not all, member states.
'It is hard to imagine that a two-speed Europe could be created in
questions such as decision-making procedures and the institutions,'
Riekstins noted.
The Slovenian presidency of the EU acknowledged that there could
not be any solutions until the Irish vote had been thought over and
analysed.
One possible outcome aired by Luxembourg's Jean Asselborn was
holding a new referendum in Ireland, once the country has been
reassured that the treaty will not limit its sovereignty in key areas
such as taxation, abortion and defence.
Nevertheless, 'nobody from the Irish side is talking about that at
the moment,' Riekstins said.
The fallout from the Irish vote is to be discussed by EU leaders
at their regular summer summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.
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