EU summit gives in to Irish demands on Lisbon Treaty[fr][de] 

Under the compromise text, seen by EurActiv, all EU countries are expected to keep their commissioner. Ireland will receive legal guarantees on taxation policy, social and ethical issues and the Common Security and Defence Policy (CFSP), with regard to Ireland's traditional policy of neutrality among other provisions. 

Long shopping list 

The draft summit conclusions feature a page entitled 'Statement of the concerns of the Irish people on the Treaty of Lisbon, as set out by the Taoiseach'. These include social protection and protection of workers' rights, public services as an instrument for social and regional cohesion, the responsibility of member countries for education and health services, and the role of national and regional governments in providing non-economic services, including those related to the common commercial policy. 

In exchange, Ireland committed to holding a second referendum on the Treaty by the end of the current Commission's term: that is, before the end of 2009. Several sources said October 2009 was the most likely date for a re-run of the referendum. 

Diplomats told EurActiv that although formal decisions would be only taken by the Council on Friday (12 December), the basic agreement "was there". 

It is now clear that the re-run of the referendum will not take place ahead of the EU elections, as MEPs had been calling for (EurActiv 09/10/08). In a series of telephone exchanges with his EU counterparts, Irish Taoiseach Brian Cowen had explained that his country needed time to organise a second referendum, EurActiv learned. 

As European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering explained at his summit press conference, finding a solution before the European elections, due in June 2009, would indeed have been more desirable but was widely considered unrealistic. 

Transitional accommodations 

Therefore, transitional measures have been adopted with respect to the Presidency of the European Council, as well as of the European Parliament. The member state holding the EU presidency when the Lisbon Treaty enters into force (Sweden holds the presidency until the end of 2009) will continue to chair all meetings in the same manner as today's presidencies. 

But the next EU presidency holder (Spain from January 2010) will make changes in conformity with the Lisbon Treaty, making room for a permanent President of the European Council and a High Representative for foreign affairs and security policy. 

Also, European Parliament will be enlarged from 736 to 754 members in the course of 2010, if indeed the Irish say 'yes' to the reform treaty. The elections will take place under the Treaty of Nice, but soon the Parliament is expected to accommodate the provisions of Lisbon. 

Answering questions from the press, Poettering acknowledged that the situation was not ideal, and the legitimacy of MEPs falling between the Nice and Lisbon Treaties should be preserved, as their status should not be different. He admitted that legal experts would struggle with the issue. 

National insiders 

Some countries, such as Belgium, were reportedly not particularly enthusiastic about the compromise whereby each member state will keep its commissioner. One of the aims of slimming down the Commission was to boost its independence from member states. 

But several countries, especially among the new members, expressed their preference for keeping the current system, considering commissioners to be the highest ranking national insiders in the EU executive. Just before arriving in Brussels, Romanian President Traian Basescu and Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said they were in favour of keeping the one-commissioner-per-country system. 

Speaking to EurActiv, ALDE leader Graham Watson MEP welcomed the compromise. "The Commission President has to be chosen as in the past, in July, and the Commission will assemble as before. We know that the Irish agree to hold the referendum before the end of the term of the current Commission. Which means one can envisage the entry into force of the Treaty in 2010," said Watson. 

He also considered as appropriate the proposals for the gradual transfer from a rotating presidency to a full time presidency of the Council, as well as the proposals for an expansion of the European Parliament during the year 2010. He said that these would allow the EU to smoothly introduce the Lisbon Treaty and benefit from the provisions of that treaty, sooner rather than later. 

As for the timing of the next referendum, Watson said that "realistically, we are talking about October of next year". He said it was unlikely that the Irish would hold a referendum before the European elections, and would rather need 18 months, as was the case when they rejected the Nice Treaty. 

"But if public opinion in Ireland is moving in the right direction, they may go for a snap referendum in the spring of next year," Watson admitted. "I've no doubts that the Irish people will recognise that they were misled by a campaign of lies and innuendo, financed partly from across the Atlantic, and they will think again about it," the ALDE leader also said. 

The eurosceptic organisation Open Europe's director Lorraine Mullally reacted negatively to the news about the Lisbon compromise. "The draft conclusions contain no legally-binding guarantees for Ireland, and look meaningless. Making the Irish vote again would mean a referendum on exactly the same text of the Lisbon Treaty, which they have already rejected," Mullaly said in a written statement. 

"If EU leaders were to actually change anything in the Treaty, that would require every other EU member state to re-ratify it - including the UK. They clearly want to avoid that at all costs," she added. 

Mullally called the compromise process "a charade to make it look as though people's concerns about the Treaty have been addressed". "The Irish 'no' vote is being ignored in a most dishonest way," she stated. 

The independent think-tank Friends of Europe issued a statement just ahead of the summit, warning Ireland that it "should also allow the EU's other member states to proceed with the Lisbon Treaty if that is what they wish". 

"Even if another referendum is to be held in Ireland, the Irish government should foresee a procedure that, irrespective of the outcome, allows other member states to implement the essential parts of the Lisbon treaty," Friends of Europe states.