Interview: Merkel can lead the EU out of crisis[fr][de] 

The way forward 

EU leaders want the problem created by the Irish 'no' to be solved before the European elections in June 2009 - and a solution will be found, Ludlow believes. In the worst-case scenario, the solution would require Ireland - or even the Czech Republic if it follows suit - to negotiate a special relationship with the EU, allowing the remaining countries to proceed ahead on the basis of the Lisbon Treaty. 

A better solution, according to him, would be to convince the Irish to vote 'yes' on the basis of "whatever declarations and soothing words they would like, within reason, but without modifications to the Treaty". 

No new treaty 

Ludlow considers the present crisis to be different from the 2005 crisis following the failed referenda on the EU Constitution in France and the Netherlands, mainly because too much effort was put into reaching agreement over the Lisbon Treaty and further re-negotiation is highly improbable. 

Unreliable referenda 

"A problem of the kind that has now arisen is less dramatic, but at the same time more tiresome than when the French and the Dutch said 'no'," said Ludlow. He spoke out strongly against referenda, calling them "a very unreliable way of arriving at political decisions," and also voiced his suspicion that "people with other motives in their mind" may press for referenda with obscure motivations. 

Ludlow believes that the Irish political class, which performed particularly badly during the campaign, "has clearly got a problem" now. He admitted that in a possible re-run of the referendum, the real question for the Irish would be whether or not they want to stay in the Union.

To read the interview in full, please click here.