Ireland Set For Reform Treaty Vote In October

Prime Minister Brian Cowen announced the new vote after winning legal guarantees from his EU partners.

Ireland will hold a second referendum on the European Union's Lisbon reform treaty in early October after winning EU assurances which Dublin said addressed the concerns of voters who rejected it last year.

Prime Minister Brian Cowen announced the new vote after winning legal guarantees from his EU partners that Ireland's policies on matters ranging from military neutrality to abortion would not be affected by the treaty.

Cowen said the assurances would ease the concerns of voters who last June opposed the treaty, which is designed to streamline EU decision making and giving the 27-nation bloc a greater say in world affairs.

"Any doubts that voters had last year are now clearly dealt with," Cowen told a news conference after two days of talks in Brussels. "I feel we will be in a position to hold a second referendum at the start of October."

Some media reports have suggested he will hold the referendum on Oct. 2.

The accord struck on Friday gives the guarantees the status of a treaty protocol -- an Irish demand -- but will not affect the ratification of the reforms in other EU countries.

LEGAL PROTOCOL

Some nations, notably Britain, Sweden and the Czech Republic expressed some concerns that giving the Irish a legally-binding protocol may reopen the ratification process in some member states which had already approved the treaty.

"There will be a protocol to give a legal value to the guarantees ... It is stressed that this does not modify in any way the content of the Irish treaty for the other 26," French President Nicolas Sarkozy told reporters.

The treaty needs the approval of all 27 EU member states to go into effect. Ireland, the Czech Republic and Poland are yet to complete the ratification procedure.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said he expected the treaty would now be approved by Irish voters.

Opinion polls suggest the treaty now has the support of a majority of Irish voters, many of whom look to Europe as a shield in the global financial crisis.

"There is no room for complacency. But what is at stake for the Irish people is their position at the heart of Europe," Cowen said.

"I believe this is of national importance ... to deal with the massive economic difficulties that can only be dealt with as part of the European Union."