Taoiseach plays down the prospect of a referendum

VOTERS could be asked to go to the polls for yet another EU treaty referendum after a former commissioner for Ireland said the Greek bailout is not allowed under the rules of the Lisbon Treaty.

As EU leaders agreed a €110 billion loan to Greece, Peter Sutherland said rules supporting the euro currency will have to be “amended or improved” to “provide assurance to the markets” who lend money to and set interest rates on borrowing for euro-countries, including Ireland.

“Article 125 of the Lisbon Treaty has a no bailout clause,” he said. “I think that was the substantial reason for the German concerns in regard to bailing out Greece. There is a legal concern, a constitutional concern, forget about the political impact of German voters being told they have to bail out other governments who acted in a way that might be described very critically. It is more an issue of the legalities of what is happening,” he told RTÉ radio.