Nice Treaty could be held mid-October

THE second referendum on the Nice Treaty is likely to be held in mid October following calls from EU ministers to have it before the important leaders’ summit later that month.

Foreign Minister Brian Cowen said the Government would try to accommodate this wish when he attended an informal meeting of fellow EU ministers in the Danish town of Elsinore yesterday.

Pressure on Ireland to vote yes to the Nice Treaty and allow EU enlargement go ahead intensified as the ministers met to finalise plans to allow ten new countries to join.