Brussels, 16/10/2008 (Agence Europe) - The EU heads of state and government meeting on Thursday at the European Council in Brussels, agreed to “define elements of a solution and the common path to follow” at the next summit in December, in an attempt to put an end to the crisis caused by the Irish “no” vote on the Lisbon Treaty. The leaders' conclusions adopted on 16 October stipulated that the Irish government will continue its consultations up to the European Council on 11-12 December, in view of contributing to the drawing up of a prospective resolution to the situation.
Brian Cowen, the Irish prime minister, confirmed that he would come up with a proposal for a solution in December but said that it was too early to speculate on a possible result. He informed his counterparts that “by December, it is my aim that we will have identified the necessary steps that need to be taken next year”. Will the Lisbon Treaty be in force before the European elections of June 2009 as urged by the European Parliament? At this stage, nothing would lead us to hope that the Irish government will attempt a second referendum in the spring of 2009 in an effort to respect the June deadline. According to diplomatic sources, it became a little more obvious at the summit that the new treaty will very probably not be in place for the European elections. All Cowen would say was that he was aware of the need for a rapid clarification of things (the Lisbon Treaty or the Treaty of Nice?), not only for the European elections but also for the new Commission in November 2009. Mr Cowen also affirmed: “I am extremely mindful that there are important milestones in the course of 2009, which require clarity at an early date. We will continue to work with our partners to ensure that we can overcome the uncertainty that currently exists”.
Nicolas Sarkozy, who is currently presiding over the European Council, said on Wednesday that he was prepared to visit Ireland again to help the government find a solution. Mr Sarkozy informed the press that “in the weeks to come, I will have the opportunity to make proposals on both legal and political levels and would undoubtedly have to go back to Ireland”. He also said that he hoped that by the end of the year, all remaining countries, Sweden and the Czech Republic, will have ratified the new treaty.
In his Wednesday evening presentation, Mr Cowen acknowledged that any renegotiation of the treaty was out of the question. However, he did add: “At the same time, we will have to obtain a satisfactory response to Irish concerns if we are to find an acceptable way forward”. The Taoiseach listed four of these concerns: the future composition of the European Commission and the planned end to a commissioner per country; the defence and tradition of Ireland's neutrality; “social and ethical matters” (allusion to the ban on abortion in Ireland); tax on companies established in Ireland. The French Presidency called on the Council of the EU's legal service to examine possibilities for meeting Ireland's requests on these points, without amending the Lisbon Treaty.
Poland. Addressing the press, Polish president Lech Kaczynski, reaffirmed that he would not sign Poland's ratification of the new treaty. In an interview with the TVN24 TV channel, he asserted: “I will willingly sign but only when the Irish have said yes”. The Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, told the press that Nicolas Sarkozy will be in Poland (in Jurata, near Gdansk) on 6 December to personally convince Kaczynski to sign Poland's treaty ratification. (H.B./transl.rh)