EU ministers: Treaty 'not dead', 'emergency plan' needed[fr][de] 

Halting the ratification process must not be an option, foreign ministers vowed after the meeting, with the only borderline country being the Czech Republic, where the treaty is under review by the court (EurActiv 16/06/08).

However ministers did not agree on a way forward. 

"The worst would be for Brussels to impose something on Ireland," Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said after the meeting.

According to him, there were three scenarios which should be categorically avoided: a long period of reflection such as the one following the failure of the constitution, a renegotiation of the Lisbon Treaty, and the suspension of the ratification process. 

Three options appear to be currently on the table. Firstly, a small group of the more ambitious countries could move forward in the form of reinforced cooperation. In case no common solution can be found with Ireland, this approach is favoured most notably by Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker and is likely to gain the support of Germany and France. 

But it is also certain to be opposed by small and new member states, which are against a 'core' or 'two-speed Europe'. Spain's Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero dismissed talks on this issue as "premature" at this point. 

A second option would be to apply the treaty only to 26 countries, with a special statute for Ireland. This view was voiced by Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier who even considered the option of Ireland temporarily exiting the integration process. 

The last option would have Ireland vote again on a revised text after the ratification process is completed in all other member states. This revised text might grant the country certain opt-outs and assurances as was the case for Denmark, which said 'yes' to the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 after an initial referendum had failed.

Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin said he felt a "sense of solidarity" when meeting his EU counterparts, saying all countries had reassured him they would work with Ireland to find a common solution to the problem. 

"We don't want to be left behind, we have always been strong supports of deepening the impact of the EU on our lives," Martin pointed out. 

However, he conceded that ministers had no 'quick solutions' to rescue the treaty. "We have not considered any options," he said after the meeting. 

Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, whose country holds the EU Presidency until 30 June, insisted the EU was not in a crisis. He expressed his confidence that "sooner or later these reforms [envisaged by the Lisbon Treaty] will see the light of day". But, he added, it would be "risky to say that we are going to give life back to the treaty while faced with a deadlock". 

Meanwhile, Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn further reassured EU candidate countries that enlargement is not threatened by the Irish 'no', said, dismissing calls such as that from European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering, who said he saw Croatia as the last country to join for now as long as the new treaty is still not in place. 

The EU is expected to open two new pre-accession chapters with Croatia and Turkey at accession conferences today.