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29th Mar 2024

Lisbon signature is solemn promise, ex-commissioner says

National governments should stand down if they fail to ratify EU treaties Viscount Etienne Davignon said Wednesday (8 October) while speaking at a European symposium in southern Ireland.

"Signing the treaty is the most solemn thing that states can do. It's a commitment to the other states. The ratification process is not at will, it is an obligation," said the former industry commissioner who served in Brussels from 1977 to 1984.

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  • Viscount Davignon: signing the treaty is the most solemn thing that states can do (Photo: EUobserver)

"I find it unacceptable that a government that has committed to other governments in good faith that it would carry this [ratification] out, why then is this the only case when a government does not resign [if it fails]? It is not acceptable."

The Belgian politician and businessman was the guest of honour at the symposium held in University College Cork entitled "Europe: International Power."

The Irish government signed the Lisbon Treaty at a formal ceremony in Lisbon last year. But an Irish referendum in June returned a No vote, putting the future of the agreement in doubt.

Mr Davignon's comments will place further pressure on Irish minister for foreign affairs Micheal Martin, who on Monday told the European Parliament's constitutional affairs committee in Brussels that the Irish government would not be able to ratify the Lisbon Treaty before European parliamentary elections in June next year.

As a result, only 736 MEPs can be elected to the chamber as laid out under the Nice Treaty instead of the 751 MEPs envisaged under Lisbon. This will reduce the national quota of MEPs in 12 member states, something that is likely to be highly unpopular.

Mr Martin was also scheduled to speak at the Cork symposium yesterday but was unable to attend due to a cabinet meeting in Dublin, where ministers discussed Ireland's emergency budget which has been brought forward to next Tuesday.

The minister is clearly anxious about Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon Treaty last June however, as evidenced by his speech which was read out in Cork by Dan Mulhall, head of the EU affairs section in the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs.

Illusion exposed

"As the ratification process has continued in other member states, the illusion propagated by those who suggested that an Irish No would result in the entire treaty being subject to renegotiation as been exposed," said Mr Mulhall.

"For the first time in its history as a member of the union, Ireland risks finding itself at the wrong side of a 26 to 1 split within the union, and that is not where we belong," he continued.

Mr Mulhall said Ireland's influence when negotiating the EU budget and the future of the Common Agricultural Policy would be reduced and that potential foreign investors may now be having some doubts.

No Croatian solution

Questioned by the EUobserver, Mr Mulhall said he did not imagine components of the Lisbon Treaty would be inserted into a Croatian accession treaty that could be signed as soon as next year.

"By the end of this year, it's likely that 26 countries could have signed up to the Lisbon Treaty. In that context I'm not sure that the idea of putting certain elements into the Croatian treaty would really be that attractive."

A number of academics amongst others have suggested that this might be a possible method of salvaging certain components of the Lisbon Treaty.

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