EU clinches deal on Irish treaty vote
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Agence Frence-Presse
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Haziran 20, 2009 00:00
BRUSSELS -Ireland secured Friday legal guarantees on sovereignty issues from European partners to pave the way for a second Irish referendum on the EU's reform treaty, the EU presidency said.
"There is a full deal now on Irish guarantees," said a spokesman for the Czech EU presidency.
The guarantees affirm Ireland's military neutrality and taxation system, as well as its stance on social issues like abortion. Irish voters rejected the Lisbon Treaty in a referendum a year ago.
Research found that people voted "no" then because of concerns of the military, tax and social issues and the Irish government has insisted on legal guarantees that the Lisbon Treaty would not affect these sovereign issues.
This agreement means Irish voters could return to the ballot boxes in September or October, and opinion polls suggest they will vote in favor of the package the second time round.
"We can confirm that a deal has been reached on legally binding guarantees and a protocol for Ireland at the summit," an Irish government source said on the second day and last day of an EU summit in Brussels.
Details of the deal were not immediately revealed, but the word "protocol" was key to the Irish government.
Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen had arrived at the summit insisting on guarantees with "full treaty status" through a legal protocol.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown had opposed a "protocol" and wanted a simple, though legally binding, EU "decision", which would not force nations to ratify the text and potentially reopen the whole Lisbon debate in countries that have already approved it.
EU legal experts worked through the night to bridge the gap after the topic was pulled off the summit agenda on Thursday. Under the deal the protocol would be attached to a future accession treaty, perhaps when Croatia joins the bloc in the years to come, and would need to be ratified in the member states, an EU diplomat said.
The guarantees affirm Ireland's military neutrality and taxation system, as well as its stance on social issues like abortion. Irish voters rejected the Lisbon Treaty in a referendum a year ago.
Research found that people voted "no" then because of concerns of the military, tax and social issues and the Irish government has insisted on legal guarantees that the Lisbon Treaty would not affect these sovereign issues.
This agreement means Irish voters could return to the ballot boxes in September or October, and opinion polls suggest they will vote in favor of the package the second time round.
"We can confirm that a deal has been reached on legally binding guarantees and a protocol for Ireland at the summit," an Irish government source said on the second day and last day of an EU summit in Brussels.
Details of the deal were not immediately revealed, but the word "protocol" was key to the Irish government.
Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen had arrived at the summit insisting on guarantees with "full treaty status" through a legal protocol.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown had opposed a "protocol" and wanted a simple, though legally binding, EU "decision", which would not force nations to ratify the text and potentially reopen the whole Lisbon debate in countries that have already approved it.
EU legal experts worked through the night to bridge the gap after the topic was pulled off the summit agenda on Thursday. Under the deal the protocol would be attached to a future accession treaty, perhaps when Croatia joins the bloc in the years to come, and would need to be ratified in the member states, an EU diplomat said.