Taoiseach heads into summit with tough demands
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Taoiseach Brian Cowen will not promise a second try at ratifying the Lisbon Treaty unless he gets absolute assurance from EU colleagues on issues of concern to the Irish people.
Mr Cowen will be pressed to state clearly at an EU summit today that Ireland will definitely hold a second referendum next year on Lisbon.
But the Taoiseach may decide to approach the summit in a more cautious manner and simply signal his intention to try to ratify the treaty after legal guarantees are sorted out on the issues of tax, abortion and defence.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy will be applying the pressure on Mr Cowen to obtain as firm a commitment as possible at his last summit in the EU presidency, such as the promise of a referendum next October.
The retention by every country of a permanent European commissioner is still proving to be a stumbling block.
Mr Cowen will seek to reach agreement in principle that Ireland is provided with legally binding guarantees on tax, abortion and defence issues not being affected by the Lisbon Treaty.
The actual text of these agreements would then be finalised over the coming months before the Government formally announces the holding of a second referendum.
Stance
But in each case, some member states may be reluctant to see Ireland receiving such a guarantee as it might affect their own domestic stance on these issues.
Reaching agreement on the retention of a European Commissioner will be tricky, as some countries, including the Benelux block of the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, believe small countries would benefit more from a smaller commission.
The Lisbon question is the main item on the agenda at the two-day summit of EU leaders, which starts this afternoon.
Government sources say the best-case scenario from negotiations would be a general agreement on the way ahead.
"The best-case scenario at the end of the summit would be that the Taoiseach has set out his concerns and receives unambiguous and clear political understanding on legal guarantees.
"He, for his part, will have sought to provide some clarify on the time-frame within which the Lisbon Treaty may be ratified," a source said.
The summit will also deal with the economic and financial crisis and an energy and climate package.
- Fionnan Sheahan Political Editor
