The Taoiseach Brian Cowen has said there was uncertainty about Ireland’s position within the EU following the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty and repeated his claim that the way forward was unclear.
Mr Cowen said was speaking in Co Westmeath today following his return from the EU summit in Brussels. He said the challenge now was to distil the concerns of the electorate and find a way forward.
Meanwhile a spokesman for French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Ireland had no choice but to hold a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.
Speaking on Newstalk this morning the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the French National Assembly, Axel Poniatowski said Europe had been "paralysed" by the vote. "As far as I'm concerned I don't see any other choice other than holding a second referendum," he said.
"Europe is paralysed because it can't take any decisions as most of the decisions have to be taken under the Treaty of Nice with unanimity. We can also find some ground for some accommodation for the Irish people on specific issues," he added.
He said tax harmonisation was not a priority for the French government and said that conscription to a European Army would "never happen because we French; we don't even want this. When we talk about European defence we mean the European industry of defence which has to be reorganised as we have too many companies doing the same things.
"And we mean have a European headquarters. But that's it. Definitely we don't want to have common troops and the French people neither don't want that."
Asked what would happen if Ireland once rejected the Lisbon Treaty a second time he said "a specific statute" would have to be found for Ireland "because I think the 26 other countries will go ahead. We just cannot continue to work under the Treaty of Nice. We really need to get out of the Nice Treaty."