The issue of future EU enlargements is proving particularly slippery, as the current and future holders of the EU's rotating presidency expressed contrary views on the subject. The president of the European Parliament then contradicted the EU's enlargement commissioner and the bloc's foreign policy chief in much the same manner.
While Slovenian Foreign Minister Dmitrij Rupel, on behalf of the outgoing EU Presidency, excluded any changes to the enlargement process following the Irish referendum, French President and upcoming EU Council President Nicolas Sarkozy warned that "for opening to the Balkans, to Croatia, we need the Lisbon Treaty". Sarkozy's comments were made in Prague, where he was trying to convince his eurosceptic hosts that the Czech Republic should not halt its ratification process. Ratification has indeed stalled there pending a ruling from the Constitutional Court.
At the same time, while Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn and the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javer Solana attempted to reassure aspiring countries that their accession is not threatened by the Irish 'no', European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering said he envisaged Croatia being the last country to join so long as the new treaty is still not in place.
But enlargement is not the only subject on which leaders differed. One of the most experienced European leaders, Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, lashed out at large EU countries, in particular Germany, for trying to ignore the negative vote in Ireland. In an article in the Financial Times Deutschland, Junker criticised the German and French leadership for hinting that ratification could go forward despite the Irish 'no' vote.
His main addressee was German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who had suggested that Ireland should take a break from the Union. Steinmeier had also said the fate of the Lisbon Treaty was uncertain and EU countries thus needed to find a quick solution. Again, this view contrasted with that of British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who said the Irish need to be given some "space".
Blame game
The blame game for the negative result in Ireland is also picking up pace. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner was widely criticised for his remarks that the Irish would be the "first victims" if they rejected the treaty, since Ireland had received so much help from the EU over the years. In the meantime, Socialist Group in the European Parliament leader Martin Schulz rounded on the EU's Irish commissioner Charlie McCreevy over his admission, ahead of the referendum, that he had not read the Lisbon Treaty.
Weaker external action
A move to lift sanctions on Cuba was abandoned by foreign ministers and is not part of the summit agenda, mainly out of a desire not to upset another "problematic" country with respect to treaty ratification, the Czech Republic. Prague opposes a Spanish initiative to lift restrictions on visits by high-level officials. The issue may seem minor, as Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt explained that Cuba itself was not very interested in talks with the Union anyway. But it serves as early confirmation of forecasts that the EU would be weakened in its external action after an Irish 'no' in the referendum.
