EU leaders to rule on Lisbon treaty demands

EU leaders will decide this evening whether to agree to Ireland’s Lisbon guarantees and if they will be written into some future treaty.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen made a final round of phone calls to colleagues yesterday to encourage them to meet Ireland’s demands, assuring them he would call a second referendum if they do.

However, last night, two stumbling blocks remained, as the British wanted changes in the text and several countries did not want the word “protocol” mentioned in the agreement.