Britannia Radio

This is a can of worms! For if Ireland takes this route it will
delay ratification because all 26 other countries would have to
approve and the chance of that working the way the Eurocrats want are
virtually NIL!

We might might even get the chance to derail the whole bang-shoot
ourselves! That would be fun!

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IRISH TIMES 28.8.08
Irish officials meet Danes for advice on Lisbon opt-outs

STEPHEN COLLINS, Political Editor

SENIOR IRISH officials met their Danish counterparts in Copenhagen
earlier this month to get advice on how Ireland could opt out of
significant provisions of the Lisbon Treaty in order to resolve the
impasse created by the outcome of the referendum in June.

The Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten reported that the Danish model,
involving opt-outs from certain aspects of EU co-operation, was now
being actively considered by the Government. Diplomatic sources in
Dublin have confirmed the meeting took place. The newspaper reported
a delegation from Dublin visited the foreign ministry in Copenhagen
to discuss the technical legal provisions of the Danish agreement
from 1993.

The Danish government responded to the rejection of the Maastricht
Treaty by its electorate in 1992 by coming up with a proposal to opt
out of four key areas of EU activity.

A second Danish referendum in 1993 approved the treaty in tandem with
the proposal to opt out of the euro as well as defence, justice and
common EU citizenship arrangements established under the treaty.

The Danish opt-outs and the legal drafting entailed in the process
was the subject of the discussions with Irish officials, according to
sources quoted by the paper. It added that Irish officials would
return for further advice if it was required.

The Irish delegation was composed of officials from the Department of
Foreign Affairs and the Attorney General's office. According to
sources, Danish officials emphasised that in 1992, its referendum
result was regarded as a Danish problem, not an EU problem.

If Ireland proceeds down the road of seeking opt-outs from the treaty
on issues like defence and the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which
provoked such controversy during the referendum campaign, the
approval of all 26 EU partners would be required.

In that event, another referendum in Ireland would be necessary, but
what form it would take and whether it would be one question or a
combination of questions will not become clear for some time.

Jyllands-Posten quoted a leading Danish politician and social
democrat spokesman on Europe, Svend Auken, as saying it was sensible
for the Irish to investigate the various possibilities, but he
pointed to the problems the opt-outs had created for Denmark. "There
is a paradox that we teach other nations how to devise opt-outs when
we are trying to get rid of them ourselves," he said.

Last November the Danish prime minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen,
announced plans for one or more referendums to try and get rid of the
opt-outs, which have caused ongoing difficulties in the relationship
between Denmark and the rest of the EU.

However, following Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon Treaty, the
referendum plan was postponed.

Polls in Denmark had indicated the electorate would approve removing
the opt-outs, but there was a shift back to a No majority following a
European Court decision that EU states may not refuse entry or right
of residence to non-EU spouses and family members.

The Taoiseach told reporters in Galway yesterday the question of
whether a second referendum would be held "is a matter the Government
has to consider in due course, but we are not at that point in our
discussions at all yet. The point of discussion we are at at the
moment is examining the outcome of the referendum and obviously there
will be a lot meetings with EU colleagues between now and the end of
the year where it will be discussed further with them. So it's not
just a matter for our own personal consideration or national
consideration, it is a matter we have to discuss with colleagues as
well."

Also yesterday, French president Nicolas Sarkozy called on Irish
voters to listen to other EU countries who wanted the treaty
reforming the EU's institutions to come into force.