Luxembourg, 16/06/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 16 Luxembourg, EU foreign affairs ministers had an initial exchange of views on the consequences of the Irish “no” vote on the Lisbon treaty (EUROPE 9682). The discussion, which was restricted during dinner, did not bring any additional clarity for the reasons that pushed the Irish to reject the new treaty or allow for any possible solution to this new institutional crisis. The issue will obviously be at the centre of this week's European Council (19/20 June) and will be examined by Heads of State and governments at the dinner on Thursday evening.
At Monday's General Affairs/External Relations Council, the Irish minister for foreign affairs, Michael Martin did not want to or was unable to unveil any solutions from his government to tackle the crisis. He declared that it was much too early to talk about solutions or proposals. He was not even able to explain to his counterparts why the treaty was rejected. The minister said that the first thing to do was to carry out a detailed analysis to understand the reasons for this vote and ascertain how this could affect Ireland's relationship with the EU. Mr Martin said that there was no short term remedy and indicated that they were in a difficult situation.
The Irish ministers asked his partners to respect the democratic decision of the Irish people. He also called for European solidarity and said that this was not just an Irish problem. Mr Martin asserted that the EU also had to pro-actively search for a solution (Irish diplomats said that following the French and Dutch votes, the EU tackled the matter as a collective issue and not just a Franco-Dutch affair). After the Council, Mr Martin praised the “strong sense of solidarity”, which he said dominated the debate. During the weekend, Irish prime minister, Brian Cowen declared that the EU should help Ireland find a solution and insisted that Ireland could not be marginalised in Europe. In this respect, he was responding to a remark made by the German foreign affairs minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who mentioned the possibility of Ireland leaving the way open for integration of the 26 other member states at some stage (on Monday, Steinmeier's spokesperson played down the matter and said that the temporary withdrawal of Ireland from the Lisbon treaty was not an objective or a proposal but a description of a possible option. On Monday at the end of the Council, the Irish minister emphasised to the press that, “Ireland is deeply committed to EU integration and does not want to be left behind”. Mr Martin said that Ireland needed “time and space” to collectively find a solution for EU27. The minister said that they had not currently envisaged any option for a second referendum in Ireland.
On Monday, the spectre of a “several-speeds Europe” had not been brought up but the 18 member states that had ratified the Lisbon treaty robustly appealed for keeping the treaty alive, as well as the ratification process in the other eight countries (excluding Ireland) whose national parliaments still have to vote: the United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, Italy and Cyprus. In the United Kingdom, Gordon Brown is under growing pressure from the Conservative party and the Euro-sceptic press, which in the past called for a referendum on the new treaty and since the Irish no vote is unambiguously calling for the treaty to be immediatley buried. The House of Lords is normally expected to examine and approve the new treaty on Wednesday 18 June. Gordon Brown appears to standing firm; after this weekend's meeting with several European leaders, he provided assurances that London would continue the parliamentary ratification process. Foreign minister, David Milliband, confirmed on Monday at the Luxembourg Council that eighteen countries had already given their position on the treaty and explained that they needed all the countries to take a position so they could decide on what had to be done. The Czech Republic's attitude will also be crucial (it takes over the presidency of the EU in the first half of 2009 for the future of the treaty. For the instant, the question is being examined at the Constitutional Court at the request of the Czech parliament. Czech president, Vaclav Klaus, has never hidden his opposition to the Lisbon treaty and some leaders of his Civic Democratic Party (ODS, in the government) believe that the no vote ought to mean the end of the treaty. The Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, who has executive powers, has not yet taken a clear position in favour of ratification. However, he noted that with the Treaty of Nice currently in force, the EU has a "stable contractual basis" which allows the EU to "function". In Luxembourg on Monday, the Czech Foreign Affairs Minister Karel Schwartzenberg sidestepped the question as to whether the process of ratification should be continued in his country or not. "Let us wait for the results of the European Council", said his spokesperson. The Deputy Prime Minister Alexandr Vondra said in Prague on Monday that France and Germany should not put pressure on the other countries to continue the process of ratification (in reference to the Franco-German declaration published on Friday 13 June, shortly after the final results in Ireland were announced, and calling, amongst other things, for ratifications to continue). "This pressure seems to me uncalled for", Mr Vondra declared. Immediately after the Irish referendum, the Netherlands announced their determination to continue and complete the process of parliamentary ratification (EUROPE 9682). Belgium pleaded "strongly" for the process of ratification to continue, announced the Belgian Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Olivier Chastel. If it turns out that Ireland continues to be unable to ratify the treaty, then Belgium will propose looking into ways of "overcoming the Irish problem with differentiation", offering Ireland the possibility of "giving up some of the steps forward contained in the Treaty of Lisbon", the Belgian Secretary of State for European Affairs explained in a press release. Spain is to continue with its parliamentary ratification, the Foreign Affairs Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos announced on Monday. The Minister believes that the Treaty could be ratified by his country "in early October". Italy and Cyprus will also continue with their parliamentary ratifications, as will Sweden, where the parliament will carry out its planned vote on ratification of the treaty, most likely in the autumn.
No impact on the enlargement process. Several delegations, including the Slovenian Presidency and the European Commission, stressed on Monday that any problems around the Treaty of Lisbon must under no circumstances have any impact on the continuation of the process of enlargement, particularly on the accession of Croatia, which hopes to join the EU in 2010. "What happened in Ireland has no specific link with the process of enlargement", commented Dimitrij Rupel. The decision to open negotiations with Croatia (and Turkey) in 2005 was taken unanimously and cannot be called into question by the Irish "no", stressed Commissioner Olli Rehn. The check, Slovakian, Polish and Hungarian prime ministers, meeting in Prague on Monday for a regional summit, also stressed the need for the process of enlargement to continue, despite this latest institutional crisis. "Recent events in Ireland should under no circumstances be a reason to do less work on the enlargement of the EU, with partners such as Croatia and other countries", said Donald Tusk of Poland. "Complications in the process of the ratification of the new Treaty should not influence the enlargement of the EU", added the Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico. (H.B./trans.fl)