Martin in Luxembourg for talks on Lisbon guarantees

Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin is due to meet his EU counterparts today for talks aimed at paving the way for a second Lisbon Treaty referendum in Ireland.

The discussions in Luxembourg will focus on legal guarantees being sought by the Government in the areas of workers' rights, abortion, neutrality and taxation.

The Government has identified these issues as the reasons for the electorate's rejection of the Lisbon Treaty last year.

There has been some suggestion that other EU member states are worried about the guarantees being sought by Ireland for fear that they might reopen the debate on the treaty in their own countries.

However, EC vice-president Margot Wallstrom said during a visit to Ireland last week that she did not foresee any major problems.