THE CZECH Republic has said it is confident the Irish people will vote Yes in a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, writes Jamie Smythin Prague.
Czech minister for foreign affairs Karel Schwarzenberg said yesterday the ratification process had to go on because it was in the best interests of the EU.
"I do believe that at the end of the day Ireland will ratify the treaty, the ratification process will be successful and the ratification process will be at an end. I'm sure of that," said Mr Schwarzenberg at a briefing on Czech priorities during its EU presidency.
The twin crises that had erupted at the start of the presidency - the cut in gas supplies to central Europe and the Israeli offensive in Gaza - underlined the importance of settling the union's institutional make-up by ratifying Lisbon. But the minister also warned against holding the process of EU enlargement hostage to the future ratification of the treaty.
"Nobody has convinced me that not accepting Croatia into the EU will influence the Irish in their vote," said Mr Schwarzenberg, who warned that any move to block future enlargement in the Balkans risked leaving a big "black hole in the heart of Europe".
France and Germany have both signalled that there will be no further enlargement of the union until the Lisbon Treaty is ratified. The two states argue that no new member states can be absorbed until the union has solved its own internal institutional problems.
Mr Schwarzenberg said he was hopeful ratification of the treaty in the Czech Republic could take place in parliament in the next few weeks. "The two crises we are facing now show how much we need the Lisbon Treaty," he added.
EU foreign ministers and European affairs ministers met informally in Prague yesterday to discuss how to proceed towards implementing the Lisbon Treaty.
The Czech government pledged to work closely with the Government to help it draw up the guarantees that it has asked for to enable it to hold a second referendum.
Czech deputy prime minister Alexander Vondra told Minister for European Affairs Dick Roche the presidency would do all it could to provide Ireland with the legal guarantees it was seeking as long as it did not have a knock-on effect on other member states.
Mr Roche also strongly lobbied the Czech presidency not to begin consultations on how to reduce the size of the European Commission in the event of a No vote.
"No discussion would be beneficial even in an informal way," said Mr Roche, who added that he felt Mr Vondra had accepted Ireland's view on a matter that could provoke a lot of controversy.
Mr Roche said he expected that the Government would not be able to conclude negotiations on guarantees before the European elections in June. Under this timeframe it seems almost certain that the only possible date for a referendum is October 2009.