A CABINET subcommittee charged with dealing with the fallout of the No vote in the Lisbon Treaty referendum is recommending the Government seek "binding declarations" from other member states on issues such as defence and neutrality before holding a second referendum.
Senior political sources said the Cabinet subcommittee on Europe had reached agreement on the broad thrust of how the Government should deal with the No vote.
This would involve seeking "binding declarations" or possibly joint decisions from other member states on sources of controversy during the last referendum campaign. These included the right to retain a commissioner, defence and neutrality, social/ethical matters such as abortion, and the right to retain our low corporate tax rate.
A senior source said everything depended on Europe's willingness to accommodate Ireland's difficulties. "It's easy enough to identify the areas. What you are going to negotiate is a whole different ball game."
Usually chaired by Taoiseach Brian Cowen, the subcommittee meets on a fortnightly basis at Government Buildings, typically for about an hour. A longer-than-normal meeting took place yesterday, and a further meeting is to be held prior to the EU summit in two weeks.
"We are very close to a decision," senior political sources said last night. "We have to sign off before the second week in December."
Also yesterday, an Oireachtas subcomittee on European Affairs published its long-awaited report on how to deal with fallout from the No vote.
The report did not explicitly endorse any particular course of action but said some options were more attractive than others.
It said seeking to maintain the status quo under the Nice Treaty could leave Ireland "severely damaged". If Ireland were on the outer tier of a two-tier Europe the economic consequences would be serious, it continued.
The report expressed opposition to holding a referendum where rejection of Lisbon would mean leaving the EU. This would be "a high-stakes strategy" and would not reflect the express wish of the Irish people, as reflected in survey data, to remain at the heart of the EU, the report said.
On parliamentary ratification, the report said it was not clear that this would be legally possible. It could also be interpreted as "circumventing the democratic decision of the people".
