EU meets to address Irish No vote
European Union
foreign ministers are gathering in Luxembourg for talks on how to respond to the Irish rejection of the Lisbon reform treaty.Voters in the Irish Republic, the only state to hold a referendum on Lisbon, rejected the treaty by 53.4% to 46.6% last Thursday.
The treaty cannot be implemented unless approved by all 27 EU states.
But the majority of EU members agree that those who have yet to ratify the treaty should carry on and do so.
| People are still stupefied by the decision of
the Irish, we need to wait for the clearing of everybody's brains Andrew Duff UK Liberal Democrat member of the European Parliament |
The foreign ministers will want to hear from their Irish counterpart Micheal Martin how they can overcome the crisis, while a two-day EU summit in Brussels starting on Thursday is expected to chart the way ahead.
Search for answers
But Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen has said there is no obvious solution for the Lisbon treaty, which is meant to streamline the workings of the EU and give it a stronger voice in the world.
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Mark Mardell explains the Irish vote's impact
Amid concern and frustration, BBC European affairs correspondent Oana Lungescu reports, the EU is looking for answers:
Why did the referendum come up with such a clear no? What changes could be made to accommodate the disparate concerns of Irish voters? How soon is a second vote possible, if at all?
"The discussions are not likely to go too far, we will not be asking him anything precise," an unnamed senior EU diplomat told AFP news agency.
Andrew Duff, a UK Liberal Democrat member of the European Parliament, said:
"People are still stupefied by the decision of the Irish, we need to wait for the clearing of everybody's brains."
Unlikely allies
Separately, French President Nicholas Sarkozy is due to arrive in the Czech capital Prague on Monday for talks with the Czech, Polish, Hungarian and Slovak leaders.
Mr Sarkozy's Czech counterpart, Vaclav Klaus, whose signature is needed for the treaty's approval, has broken ranks by calling the Irish No a victory for liberty and reason over elitist plans and European bureaucracy.
There is also growing pressure on UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown to stop the treaty from going through the last stage of ratification on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, more federalist leaders like Luxembourg's Jean-Claude Juncker have revived calls for a multi-speed Europe.
They say that some countries could push forward with integration in what he called a Club of the Few.
The treaty is aimed at helping the EU to cope with its expansion into eastern Europe.
It provides for a streamlining of the European Commission, the removal of the national veto in more policy areas, a new president of the European Council and a strengthened foreign affairs post.
It is due to come into force on 1 January 2009.