Cowen confident of majority yes to Lisbon

TAOISEACH Brian Cowen said he believed a good majority would support the Lisbon treaty in a second referendum, expected to be held next autumn.

But in the meantime the details of the guarantees and assurances he won from his fellow EU leaders will have to be finalised over the next six months.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy who chaired the summit announced: “Lisbon is relaunched — the Irish will be consulted again” and added: “I would like to tell you how brave the Irish prime minister has been”.