Speaking to journalists after a lunch with Liberal Democratic EU leaders, Cowen seemed optimistic that progress would be made on giving Ireland the assurances it needs to allow the government to ask the Irish to vote on the treaty for a second time.
"The Lisbon Treaty is about the modernisation of the institutions of the Union," he said. "If we want to deliver on major issues of the day, including employment, the economy and climate change: these are issues that are best addressed in the European Union," he added.
Despite strong fears that the unstable political and economic situation could prompt a second 'no' vote, Cowen stressed there is wide recognition that the economic downturn needs a coordinated EU response which, he believes, "will create the right context in which to hold the second referendum".
On Wednesday (18 March), Irish Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy and the head of the EU executive's representation in Dublin, Martin Territt, told a meeting of all 27 EU commissioners that the difficult economic crisis could have serious consequences for a re-vote.
Reportedly, an emergency budget which will be presented in April could further hit the popularity of Cowen's government, despite recent opinion polls showing that the public had swung behind the treaty.
The taoiseach will outline the current state of play in Ireland's debate on the Lisbon Treaty, while no agreement on the remaining guarantees is expected to be reached at the summit this week. The draft conclusions foresee a deal at the June meeting instead.
"What we need in this difficult situation is a clear timetable," Hans-Gert Pöttering, president of the European Parliament, told EU leaders yesterday (EurActiv 20/03/09). “No matter what, we want the election of the president of the Commission to take place on 15 July 2009" during the first session of the newly-elected Parliament.
Experts agree that if clarifications are agreed in June that would not give enough time to organise and publicise a second referendum by the autumn. In recent weeks, there has been speculation that the Irish government might hold a referendum in June, alongside the European elections, to take advantage of the support shown in the polls. But Irish European Affairs Minister Dick Roche dismissed this idea, saying "holding it the same day as the European elections would provide eurosceptics with a campaign gift" (EurActiv 13/02/09).
Meanwhile, the European Commission is planning to spend 1.8 million euro on a public information campaign to boost understanding of the Lisbon Treaty.
