Irish premier says "no decisions" likely at EU summit (Roundup)

Europe News

Jun 17, 2008, 18:04 GMT

Dublin - Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen outlined to parliament Tuesday his approach to this week's European Union summit following the Irish rejection of the EU's Lisbon Treaty. Cowen said he will tell his European colleagues that the Irish people have spoken and the government accepts their verdict. He added that 'no decisions will be taken' at Thursday's summer summit of EU leaders in Brussels. The premier said the treaty is 'a work in progress' and the summit may 'outline a process' to resolve the current impasse. The Irish referendum result is expected to dominate the summit agenda. Earlier Tuesday Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin briefed the cabinet on discussions with his EU colleagues over the crisis unleashed by last week's rejection of the Lisbon Treaty in a referendum, national broadcaster RTE reported Tuesday. The discussions in Luxembourg on Monday centred on working with Ireland to find a solution to the crisis. Martin is believed to have told the cabinet that Ireland was not being blamed for the no vote. The cabinet also discussed the position that Prime Minister Cowen would adopt at the summit on Thursday and Friday. Ireland's lower house of parliament, the Dail, is to debate Wednesday the fall-out from the no vote in Thursday's referendum to approve the treaty aimed at streamlining decision- making in the 27-member bloc. It is the first opportunity for politicians to discuss the result since the referendum, in which 53.4 per cent of the Irish electorate voted against the treaty, while 46.6 per cent voted in favour of it. Questions will be asked as to how 160 members of the 166-seat parliament who campaigned for the yes side in the referendum could not persuade the Irish public to support it. According to leaked results of an EU survey published on Tuesday by the Irish Independent, many who voted no in the referendum did so either because they did not understand the treaty, or because they had other concerns, such as immigration and unemployment. Moreover, 70 per cent of those who rejected the treaty mistakenly thought it could be easily renegotiated. In Luxembourg on Tuesday, a top EU official said Ireland was expected to propose ways out of the institutional deadlock caused by the rejection of the Lisbon treaty. Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, whose government currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, said that 'After the vacations, after the holidays, I understand that our Irish friends will come up with some ideas' on the issue. The consensus from Monday's meeting of EU foreign ministers was that the EU should 'show solidarity' with Ireland, but that it was now incumbent on the Irish government to present its analysis of the situation and propose ways out of the impasse.

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