Byrner
06-16-2008, 08:45 AM
The post-match analysis begins in earnest today as EU foreign ministers discuss the fallout from Ireland’s referendum rejection of a new EU treaty.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin will be in the spotlight at talks in Luxembourg after a weekend of behind-the-scenes recriminations, soul-searching and barely-concealed fury in many capitals that the EU’s reform plans have been derailed again.
Today's meeting will provide an important guide to the depth of anger felt in some EU capitals towards Ireland for failing to carry the referendum.
No swift conclusions will be drawn about what to do next - the serious debate about whether to bury the treaty or keep it on life-support will get under way at a summit in Brussels where Taoiseach Brian Cowen will be expected to explain how the No campaign seized the initiative.
Mr Cowen insisted yesterday that there were no obvious solutions to the crisis posed by the Lisbon Treaty referendum defeat as most other European Union governments signalled over the weekend that they are not willing to open up the treaty for serious renegotiation.
A Government source said Mr Cowen's primary concern was to do everything possible to avoid the nightmare scenario of the other 26 countries agreeing to proceed with a new treaty that excludes Ireland.
Mr Cowen has already insisted publicly that the result should not be seen as a vote against the EU, despite eurosceptics hailing the outcome as a body blow for the Union enterprise.
France and Germany have already signalled they do not want to let the treaty die: with 18 countries having already approved the document, pressure is on to let the other member states declare their views before pulling the plug.
But UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who will attend today’s Luxembourg talks, said there could be no question of “bulldozing or bamboozling” Ireland into trying to reverse the “no” vote in last week’s treaty referendum.
He said that it was for Mr Cowen to decide whether he wanted to “apply the last rites” to a treaty once deemed essential by European leaders to ensure the smooth-running of the EU.
The alternative could be a “two-tier” accord in which Ireland opts out of the treaty’s main provisions.
That would be legally and technically difficult say EU institutional experts - especially as there is no agreement on why the Irish voters voted no, and what they expect instead of the treaty.
Apart from that, any attempt to keep the treaty alive when legally it falls after rejection in just one member state, would give eurosceptics more ammunition in the campaign against what some see as the relentless drive towards a European superstate.
The treaty, intended to streamline EU decision-making and avoid gridlock in a bloc of 27 member states and rising, would have established an EU president and foreign minister while cutting back the number of national vetoes.
However Mr Miliband, who pointedly referred to the treaty’s institutional reforms as Europe’s “old agenda”, acknowledged that they may simply have to carry on under the existing rules.
“That is certainly one option. It is a bit messy at the moment, but let’s work our way through it,” he said yesterday.
While the Government intends to push ahead with the Bill to ratify the treaty in Britain, Mr Miliband emphasised that it could not be implemented unless it was ratified by all 27 member states.
“The rules are absolutely clear. If all 27 countries do not pass the Lisbon Treaty then it does not pass into law,” he said.
“There can be no question of bulldozing or bamboozling or ignoring the Irish vote,” he said.
“In the end it is for the Irish prime minister to decide what his next moves are. He has got to decide whether or not to apply the last rites. That’s his prerogative.”
But a two-tier Europe was not the way forward: “The idea of a first division Europe, a second division Europe, a third division Europe doesn’t accord with the realities today.”
When France and the Netherlands both rejected the EU Constitution — the treaty’s predecessor, the EU agreed to go into a “period of reflection”.
This time EU officials say another lengthy delay in sorting out future institutional arrangement would be disastrous, and if the current treaty is to be saved, it must be done swiftly — the provisions are due in force at the start of next year.
European Parliament President Hans Gert Poettering said: “We must now calmly reflect on how to proceed. The reform of the European Union is important for citizens, for democracy and transparency.
“Therefore I hope that it will be possible to find a solution so that reforms can come into force by the time of the European elections in June 2009.”
And European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said after the result on Friday that he believed Ireland remained committed to “building a strong Europe and playing a full and active part in the EU.”
“We will try to avoid recriminations in Luxembourg today and at the Brussels summit,” said one EU official.
“We are where we are and the job now is to find an acceptable way out of this situation. Some of us just can’t believe we’re back in the same mess as three years ago.”
News Source:http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2008/0616/breaking2.htm
Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin will be in the spotlight at talks in Luxembourg after a weekend of behind-the-scenes recriminations, soul-searching and barely-concealed fury in many capitals that the EU’s reform plans have been derailed again.
Today's meeting will provide an important guide to the depth of anger felt in some EU capitals towards Ireland for failing to carry the referendum.
No swift conclusions will be drawn about what to do next - the serious debate about whether to bury the treaty or keep it on life-support will get under way at a summit in Brussels where Taoiseach Brian Cowen will be expected to explain how the No campaign seized the initiative.
Mr Cowen insisted yesterday that there were no obvious solutions to the crisis posed by the Lisbon Treaty referendum defeat as most other European Union governments signalled over the weekend that they are not willing to open up the treaty for serious renegotiation.
A Government source said Mr Cowen's primary concern was to do everything possible to avoid the nightmare scenario of the other 26 countries agreeing to proceed with a new treaty that excludes Ireland.
Mr Cowen has already insisted publicly that the result should not be seen as a vote against the EU, despite eurosceptics hailing the outcome as a body blow for the Union enterprise.
France and Germany have already signalled they do not want to let the treaty die: with 18 countries having already approved the document, pressure is on to let the other member states declare their views before pulling the plug.
But UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who will attend today’s Luxembourg talks, said there could be no question of “bulldozing or bamboozling” Ireland into trying to reverse the “no” vote in last week’s treaty referendum.
He said that it was for Mr Cowen to decide whether he wanted to “apply the last rites” to a treaty once deemed essential by European leaders to ensure the smooth-running of the EU.
The alternative could be a “two-tier” accord in which Ireland opts out of the treaty’s main provisions.
That would be legally and technically difficult say EU institutional experts - especially as there is no agreement on why the Irish voters voted no, and what they expect instead of the treaty.
Apart from that, any attempt to keep the treaty alive when legally it falls after rejection in just one member state, would give eurosceptics more ammunition in the campaign against what some see as the relentless drive towards a European superstate.
The treaty, intended to streamline EU decision-making and avoid gridlock in a bloc of 27 member states and rising, would have established an EU president and foreign minister while cutting back the number of national vetoes.
However Mr Miliband, who pointedly referred to the treaty’s institutional reforms as Europe’s “old agenda”, acknowledged that they may simply have to carry on under the existing rules.
“That is certainly one option. It is a bit messy at the moment, but let’s work our way through it,” he said yesterday.
While the Government intends to push ahead with the Bill to ratify the treaty in Britain, Mr Miliband emphasised that it could not be implemented unless it was ratified by all 27 member states.
“The rules are absolutely clear. If all 27 countries do not pass the Lisbon Treaty then it does not pass into law,” he said.
“There can be no question of bulldozing or bamboozling or ignoring the Irish vote,” he said.
“In the end it is for the Irish prime minister to decide what his next moves are. He has got to decide whether or not to apply the last rites. That’s his prerogative.”
But a two-tier Europe was not the way forward: “The idea of a first division Europe, a second division Europe, a third division Europe doesn’t accord with the realities today.”
When France and the Netherlands both rejected the EU Constitution — the treaty’s predecessor, the EU agreed to go into a “period of reflection”.
This time EU officials say another lengthy delay in sorting out future institutional arrangement would be disastrous, and if the current treaty is to be saved, it must be done swiftly — the provisions are due in force at the start of next year.
European Parliament President Hans Gert Poettering said: “We must now calmly reflect on how to proceed. The reform of the European Union is important for citizens, for democracy and transparency.
“Therefore I hope that it will be possible to find a solution so that reforms can come into force by the time of the European elections in June 2009.”
And European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said after the result on Friday that he believed Ireland remained committed to “building a strong Europe and playing a full and active part in the EU.”
“We will try to avoid recriminations in Luxembourg today and at the Brussels summit,” said one EU official.
“We are where we are and the job now is to find an acceptable way out of this situation. Some of us just can’t believe we’re back in the same mess as three years ago.”
News Source:http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2008/0616/breaking2.htm