Irish minister fudges Lisbon treaty question

Irish foreign minister Micheal Martin declined to clarify his country's position on holding a second referendum on the Lisbon treaty next year, despite reports of an impending announcement.

"We have not decided to hold a referendum," he told a packed crowd of Brussels officials and journalists at a meeting on Monday (8 December) held by the European Policy Centre, an EU think-tank.

But when pressed if he saw any other way out of the impasse other than a second referendum, he respo...