All eyes on Ireland as EU treaty is signed

AS THE only country to have a referendum on the EU Reform Treaty all eyes now shift to Ireland following the official signing of the treaty document in Lisbon yesterday.

While the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has not yet announced a date for the referendum, campaigning is under way with commission president Jose Manuel Barroso calling on Irish voters to show their commitment to Europe by voting in favour of the treaty.

Fianna Fáil MEP Brian Crowley advised the commission president, however: “No tax, no tax, no tax. The treaties do not give you the power to come up with tax proposals. The commission should stay away from it,” he said, referring to proposals to have a single method of calculating corporation tax across the EU.