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Ireland could repeat EU treaty vote this year, diplomats say (Extra)

Jun 16, 2008, 16:57 GMT

Luxembourg - Ireland could win a number of key concessions enabling it to hold a new referendum on the Lisbon Treaty later this year, European Union foreign ministers hinted Monday. 'We must help the Irish get back into the boat by doing something special for Ireland,' said Luxembourg's Jean Asselborn. Asselborn talked about drafting 'a declaration' providing Ireland with assurances on a number of key issues such as abortion, taxation and defence. 'Those are all questions we can pack in a declaration to avoid us having to ratify it again,' he said. Such a declaration would only solve the problem, however, if Ireland were to hold a second referendum once it had been made. While Ireland itself remained silent on the subject of a repeat referendum, such an idea was later reinforced by Germany's Foreign Minister Franz-Walter Steinmeier. Saying a solution should be found 'this year', Steinmeier added that 'the Danish model from 1992 could be a model in this crisis.' In 1992, Denmark voted against the Maastricht Treaty that created the European Union out of the European Community. However, a repeat referendum a year later approved the treaty after the Danish government won legally-binding opt-outs in such areas as defence, justice and citizenship. Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin did not explicitly address the issue of a new referendum on Monday, saying only that his government had 'an open approach' to the issue. 'Ireland does not want to be left behind,' Martin said in Luxembourg.

Europe News

Ireland could repeat EU treaty vote this year, diplomats say (Extra)

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