Irish Times: Government unlikely to call a referendum over a looming revision to the Lisbon Treaty
15 December 2010
After the failure of the first Lisbon and Nice treaty referendums, the Government is known to have entered into talks on the insertion of a new paragraph in the Lisbon Treaty with the objective of avoiding a new vote.
Minister of State for Europe Dick Roche said it was his personal view that a referral to the people would not be required and believed Cabinet members to hold the same opinion.
EU leaders expect to sign off on the amendment when they gather in Brussels tomorrow. They believe the change will not transfer powers to the EU and, therefore, may not require an Irish referendum.
Although the formal decision on whether a vote is required rests on a legal opinion from the Attorney General, Mr Roche said the Government took advice from the attorney as it entered the talks and was pleased with their outcome.
This frees them to use an amendment procedure reserved for such changes. The leaders believe they can go down this path because the rescue scheme they plan would operate as an inter-governmental arrangement, outside the purview of the EU institutions.
