NO-VOTE SCENARIO:THERE WOULD be no second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, Minister of State for European Affairs Dick Roche said last night. He was responding to a claim by Kathy Sinnott MEP that she had "verified proof" that the EU was preparing a "Plan B" in the event that the treaty was defeated.
Ms Sinnott, Independent MEP for Ireland South, said indications of a Plan B came in the remarks of French National Assembly Delegation president Pierre Lequiller when he hosted the German Bundestag European Affairs Committee in Paris on May 15th.
In Ms Sinnott's translation, Mr Lequiller told his German guests: "The alarming question remains of the Irish referendum, where polls indicate an equal division of opinion between the Yes side, the No side and the Undecided.
"It is necessary to consider the worst case and, therefore, to think of a solution in the event of a negative vote. In this case, it would undoubtedly be necessary to ask for a new vote after the adoption of a certain number of amendments."
Ms Sinnott said: "After discovering this document it became clear that we are being told there is no Plan B to pressure us into voting Yes. This pressure is not just from our own political leaders, but also from the European leaders they bring over here."
Mr Roche said: "The Lisbon Treaty does not have any legal effect unless it is ratified by all 27 member states of the EU by the end of this year. If this treaty is not ratified by the end of this year by all EU countries, it is null and void and EU governments will have to go back to the drawing board."