MEPs call for Lisbon vote before June elections
Taoiseach Brian Cowen is expected to tell his fellow EU leaders at their summit next week that voting for the new parliament should go ahead under current Nice treaty rules.
He will indicate that, if Lisbon is to be put to the Irish electorate again, it is unlikely to happen before next November.
Inigo De Vigo, a Spanish MEP, said they cannot wait that long. “The Lisbon treaty will become a battlefield in the parliament elections and the issues that are really important for the citizens such as the economy, climate change and energy security will be neglected.”
Waiting until November would mean the momentum was lost. It would mean extending the life of the Barroso Commission and the parliament would vote against such a move, he said.
German MEP Elmar Brok said the Oireachtas sub-committee looking into Ireland’s future relationship with the EU and due to report at the end of November, should make first proposals on how to deal with the situation.
“They must make it clear the consequences for Ireland if the 26 have ratified, as they are most likely to have done by December, and to see the alternatives.”
A second referendum at the end of February or the beginning of March would be soon enough. “It’s totally up to the Irish if they want to link the vote to membership,” he added.
But if the Irish reject the treaty a second time, they should let the other members of the union go ahead.
Under the Nice treaty there are more MEPs overall and an automatic reduction in the number of commissioners that would normally take office five months after the parliamentary election.
Under the Lisbon treaty there are fewer MEPs overall, but Spain gains four seats while Germany loses three. The major change is almost all legislation will have to be agreed by the parliament and member states, and member states’ decisions will be by majority vote rather than unanimity.
