Spotlight on Cowen at EU leaders’ talks

TAOISEACH Brian Cowen will be under an intense spotlight at the two-day summit of EU leaders which begins in Brussels today.

Mr Cowen will outline reasons for the Irish rejection of the Lisbon treaty, but will resist pressure to say if he will call a second referendum.

Instead he will tell his counterparts they must wait until their next summit in December to hear if Ireland will try to ratify the treaty with a second vote, and if so, when that will happen.