EU LEADERS have welcomed the announcement of the date of the second Lisbon referendum and expressed confidence the Irish people will vote yes this time.
On the margins of the G8 meeting of leading economies in Italy yesterday, Swedish prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said he “hoped to see a better campaign and result in Ireland”.
“We have listened to the Irish people and they now have better grounds for knowing what the Lisbon Treaty is about and what it is not about,” said Mr Reinfeldt, who attended the G8 summit because his country holds the six month rotating presidency of the Union.
He said the first referendum campaign was dominated by a lot of talk about things that were not in the actual treaty. He said this had now been clarified by EU leaders.
“I welcome the co-operation we’ve had with the Irish Government.
“They asked for legal guarantees and Europe provided them with that at the June council. They asked to keep their commissioner and we, last December, met that request,” said Mr Reinfeldt, who added that Europe needed the Lisbon Treaty in place to make it function better.
European Commission president José Manuel Barroso also welcomed the decision of Taoiseach Brian Cowen to set a date for the referendum.
He said the discussions at the G8 underlined how the world had changed due to globalisation.
“Today if you want to shape the world and you want to defend and protect your interests and those of our citizens . . . each country, whether it’s Ireland, Sweden, Portugal or Germany, Italy, France needs a strong EU,” said Mr Barroso, who is likely to travel to Ireland before the vote on October 2nd.
“We very much expect our Irish friends to give their contribution to an EU that is able to take decisions on schedule and is more representative, more democratic and more stable,” added Mr Barroso.
Jerzy Buzek, the Polish MEP tipped to be elected president of the European Parliament next week, also told journalists yesterday his first duty would be to travel to Ireland to campaign for a Yes vote alongside former parliament president Pat Cox.