Taoiseach Brian Cowen embarks on a series of meetings with European leaders tomorrow ahead of a crucial European Council meeting next week.
The meeting will discuss the aftermath of Ireland’s rejection of the Lisbon Treaty in a referendum in June.
Mr Cowen departs for Luxembourg tomorrow where he will meet prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker. He will then travel to Berlin for an evening meeting with chancellor Angela Merkel.
On Thursday the Taoiseach will meet prime minister Gordon Brown in London and on Friday he will meet French president Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris.
Issues other than the Lisbon treaty, climate change, energy and the international financial crisis, will also be discussed at the series of meetings, Mr Cowen’s office said.
The report of an Oireachtas Subcommittee on Lisbon, published last week found that holding a second Lisbon referendum, with additional material in the form of declarations, formal EU decisions on certain issues, or protocols, is the key option.
Chaired by Fine Gael Senator Paschal Donohoe, the all-party group was set up under the auspices of the Joint Committee on European Affairs with the formal title of Subcommittee on Ireland's Future in the European Union. Sinn Féin MEP Mary Lou McDonald said the subcommittee report was "simply a re-articulation of the Yes argument".
The Taoiseach discussed the prospect of all 27 EU states retaining a commissioner last week during a meeting in Helsinki with the Finnish prime minister, Matti Vanhanen.
