Cowen says 'No' to deal on treaty as poll looms
Leaders pile the pressure on Taoiseach over Lisbon debacle
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Saturday June 21 2008
TAOISEACH Brian Cowen yesterday firmly ruled out any renegotiation of the Lisbon Treaty -- but left open the distinct possibility of a second referendum next year.
Mr Cowen admitted his room for manoeuvre was "not great" after the EU summit in Brussels, where leaders told him they had "no interest in re-opening the text".
They also confirmed they wanted to see the treaty sorted out before next year's European elections and a new Commission taking office.
The increasingly likely prospect of a second referendum next spring comes as the damning findings of a poll show a disastrous 'Yes' campaign was directly to blame for the defeat.
The poll was carried out just after votes were cast last week and reveals even those who voted 'Yes' felt the 'No' campaign was more convincing.
The Eurobarometer poll found just one-in-10 voters had made up their minds at the time the referendum was announced, with the vast majority open to being swayed.
A total of 15pc made up their minds on the day of the referendum itself, with almost a quarter voting 'No' simply because they didn't have enough information.
As revealed in the Irish Independent earlier this week, other findings show that young people voted 'No' by a margin of two to one, people who did not understand the treaty voted 'No' and three-quarters of 'No' voters thought the treaty could be easily renegotiated.
But any faint prospect of a renegotiation was eliminated yesterday as the Taoiseach accepted his options were pretty limited as the rest of the EU wanted to push on with Lisbon.
"It is clear from some of the comments already made that perhaps the room for manoeuvre is not as great as others would have you believe, because at the end of the day an agreement is in this case a 27-way street not just a two-way street," he said.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is preparing to take over the presidency of the EU, earlier said any renegotiation of the treaty was not an option.
"Renegotiation of the treaty is excluded," he said.
Not only will there not be a renegotiation but Mr Cowen also outlined how EU leaders wanted the Lisbon issue resolved before the European elections next June.
Problems
Ireland is not the only stumbling block to ratifying the Lisbon Treaty, as there are also legal problems in Britain and the Czech Republic.
Czech President Vaclav Klaus declared ratification could not continue after it was rejected by Irish voters.
His remarks put ratification of the treaty in doubt in Prague, where the upper house of parliament has asked the constitutional court to judge whether the charter is compatible with the country's constitution.
In Britain, a High Court challenge has stalled the official processing of its agreed ratification.
The seemingly inevitable move towards Lisbon II has sparked a furious reaction from 'No' campaigners.
Accusing Mr Cowen of failing to make it clear to his colleagues that Ireland will not ratify the Lisbon Treaty in its current form, Libertas said if this same deal is put before the Irish people again, it will be rejected out of hand.
Libertas chairman Declan Ganley said Lisbon is "dead", and no amount of posturing will breathe life back into it.
The Green Party's former MEP Patricia McKenna, of the People's Movement, said the attachments of clarifications to the treaty for Ireland would not be enough.
She said the Government was taking a gamble and it could backfire badly on them if even more people came out to vote 'No'.
- Fionnan Sheahan Political Editor, in Brussels
