IRELAND COULD be offered concessions or opt-outs from core EU policies if it would help the Government win a new referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, the EU presidency has said.
"It is possible in the future, although it is only one of the possibilities," Slovene prime minister Janez Jansa said yesterday. However, he said such an approach would not emerge from tomorrow's EU summit in Brussels, which will hear a report from Taoiseach Brian Cowen on the Government's view of the referendum and an appeal from him for time to take stock.
Ministers will hold a special meeting of the Cabinet's European Union committee ahead of the summit and the Dáil will devote several hours to debate the referendum result, after Opposition protests that every other European parliament is discussing the crisis, bar Ireland's.
During Dáil exchanges yesterday, the Taoiseach repeatedly insisted "no quick fixes" exist to deal with the referendum result, but said he would not be calling on other EU states to scrap their ratification of the treaty.
The Government strategy appears to be to buy time until the real attitude of the other member states becomes clear, while allowing Irish public opinion to note other states' ongoing ratification of the treaty.
France and Germany are quietly hoping the Government will consider holding another referendum in the spring before the next European elections on the basis of several opt-outs from core EU policies or declarations explaining how the Lisbon Treaty does not affect Irish tax or abortion laws. British diplomats are more cautious, believing a second failed referendum could provoke an EU crisis.
There was some criticism of the Government's campaign at the weekly meeting of commissioners. Commission vice-president Margot Wallstrom told fellow commissioners that member states needed to do more to communicate with their citizens about Europe and stop paying only lip service to the commission's communication strategies.
Trade commissioner Peter Mandelson also criticised the Government for running a poor campaign. He pointed out that it had not even used the information that he provided about Ireland's right to veto a global trade deal until it was too late and a lot of damage had been done.
Ireland's commissioner Charlie McCreevy highlighted the gap between ordinary people and the EU and the difficulty in communicating Europe to people. Last night, Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin ruled out a meeting with Sinn Féin to discuss the outcome of the referendum. Pointing out that there was a Dáil debate on it today, he said that was the "proper channel" for communication.
Asked about the possibility of holding a second referendum, he said: "There's no instant solution here, there's no option that we're particularly focused on."
Looking ahead to the Taoiseach's speech in Brussels tomorrow, he said: "Basically our position is that we do require time to reflect on this and, working with our EU partners, see can we map a way forward that will, first of all, ensure that we continue to be at the heart of the EU."