DUBLIN: Ireland on Wednesday rebuffed a French suggestion that it hold a second referendum on the European Union treaty, which was rejected by its voters last month. The Irish Times newspaper described "quiet fury" in the government after President Nicolas Sarkozy of France said Tuesday that Ireland would have to hold a second vote on the pact intended to overhaul EU institutions. The no vote in Ireland plunged the EU into crisis because the treaty - envisioned as a replacement for a proposed constitution rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005 - cannot come into force until it has been ratified by all member states. "It is far, far too early to be talking about a referendum or about some specific policy to go forward," the European affairs minister, Dick Roche, told Newstalk radio. He said that "rash" proposals were "not helpful."
DUBLIN: Ireland on Wednesday rebuffed a French suggestion that it hold a second referendum on the European Union treaty, which was rejected by its voters last month.
The Irish Times newspaper described "quiet fury" in the government after President Nicolas Sarkozy of France said Tuesday that Ireland would have to hold a second vote on the pact intended to overhaul EU institutions.
The no vote in Ireland plunged the EU into crisis because the treaty - envisioned as a replacement for a proposed constitution rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005 - cannot come into force until it has been ratified by all member states.
"It is far, far too early to be talking about a referendum or about some specific policy to go forward," the European affairs minister, Dick Roche, told Newstalk radio. He said that "rash" proposals were "not helpful."
Thanks, Sarko! You just finished off Lisbon.
