BOTH the UN and Javier Solana, the EU’s foreign policy chief, have defended the actions of Irish troops in Chad when armed groups tried to attack refugee camps and NGO compounds at the weekend.

THE Government is expected to opt out of a whole raft of immigration policy designed to encourage legal migration into Europe while strengthening borders against illegals.

FISHERMEN whose livelihoods are threatened because of the big jump in fuel prices are to be thrown a lifeline by the European Commission.

TAX reductions and other measures to help the poor and those hardest pressed by rising oil prices, including the fisheries and transport sectors, are to be proposed by the European Commission.

IN TEMPERATURES of up to 55°C and in one of the most dangerous parts of the world, members of the Irish army were among the first to vote in the Lisbon treaty referendum.

EUROPEAN Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso described as absurd allegations that he was trying to force the Irish electorate to vote for the Lisbon Treaty.

DRIVERS can cut their fuel bills by following a few guidelines that will also reduce CO2 emissions.

THE latest proposals from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) are even worse for Irish agriculture than the previous ones, according to the Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin.

Ann Cahill looks at the affect of the treaty on the daily functions of the EU.

The Lisbon Treaty makes important changes to how the European Union is run. As the countdown to the referendum continues, we begin our daily series explaining aspects of the treaty and the effects for Ireland. European correspondent Ann Cahill explains.