Two-tier Europe or back to square one?

EUROPE’S foreign ministers will discuss the Irish rejection of the Lisbon treaty when they meet in Luxembourg today as some countries suggest the union should move ahead without Ireland.

Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin will give them a brief outline of the situation but will not say how Ireland intends to proceed. This will be left to Taoiseach Brian Cowen at the EU summit in Brussels on Thursday.

So far there is no consensus among EU leaders on what should happen next other than that the remaining eight member states that have yet to ratify the treaty should proceed to do so.