Brussels, 18/05/2009 (Agence Europe) - EU Foreign Ministers, meeting in the General Affairs Council on 18 May, held a brief debate in preparation for the European Council of 18-19 June.
With regard to the Lisbon Treaty, Irish European Affairs Minister Dick Roche stressed the need for a formal agreement in June on the “legal guarantees” on the Lisbon Treaty which the December European Council promised Dublin. These guarantees must be “legal and robust” because “the outcome of the referendum to be held probably in October) depends on it,” Roche told ministers. Preparation of the text on the guarantees is, for the moment, in the hands of the Irish, who will, next week, begin bilateral consultations with all the other member states on the draft text prepared with the help of the Council Secretariat. Once these consultations have been completed, the draft text will be submitted to the COREPER in the hope that final agreement “on the form and content” of the Irish guarantees “ahead of the European Council, that is, at the General Affairs Council on 15 June, the new Czech European Affairs Minister Stefan Füle, who co-chaired Monday's Council told press. The Czech Presidency will be vigilant to ensure that the guarantees are “robust enough to dispel all the concerns expressed at the first referendum”. At the same time, they will have to comply with two “red lines”: they must not require a further ratification by member states nor must they overstep the political mandate granted by leaders in their conclusions of December 2008. Füle said it would be a “good idea” for Dublin to announce the date of the referendum in June; that, however, was a decision for the Dublin authorities alone, he said.
Illegal Immigration. Several countries (Italy, Spain, Cyprus, Romania, Greece, Malta, Finland and France) called for the issue of illegal immigration (particularly in the Mediterranean) to be added to the agenda. It is not certain that the Presidency will look upon this request with favour in that the matter has already been discussed several times in summits and repetition has to be avoided, new Czech Foreign Minister and current Council President Jan Kohouts told press. (H.B./transl.rt)