Cowen set for Lisbon Treaty tour

Taoiseach Brian Cowen will fly to Scandinavia this week to discuss the Lisbon Treaty with other European country leaders.

Mr Cowen will depart for Sweden and Finland on Thursday, where he will hold talks with Prime Ministers Fredrik Reinfeldt and Matti Vanhanen ahead of December’s European Council.

A government spokesman said the Taoiseach will first meet Mr Vanhanen in Helsinki, where climate change, energy package and the international financial crisis will also be tabled.

Mr Cowen plans to see President of Finland Tarja Halonen while in the capital.

On Friday, the Taoiseach will travel to Stockholm where he will have consultations with Mr Reinfeldt.

“Discussions are expected again to centre on the Lisbon Treaty, the international financial crisis and the climate change and energy package negotiations, as well as on Sweden’s priorities for the Presidency of the European Union which it is preparing to assume next July,” said the spokesman.

Mr Cowen will return to Dublin on Friday.

The European Union reform was plunged into chaos in June when the Lisbon Treaty was rejected in an Irish referendum by 53.4% to 46.6%.

Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin previously said the Government will decide on whether to hold another referendum on the Lisbon Treaty before the summit in Brussels on December 11.