COMMONS DEBATE:BRITAIN'S FOREIGN Secretary David Miliband said yesterday there could be "no question of ignoring the Irish vote" or "bulldozing" public opinion after its rejection of the Lisbon Treaty.
He said the treaty could not come into force until it was ratified by all 27 EU member states.
In a Commons statement, Mr Miliband said the EU had to find a "way forward" that allowed it to focus on "big policy issues". After flying back from talks between EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg he said there was "no appetite" among members to return to "years of constitutional negotiation".
To loud Tory cheers he told MPs: "The rules of the treaty and the EU are clear - all 27 member states must ratify the treaty for it to come into force.
"And we will defend that principle on this side of the House extremely strongly . . . There is no question of ignoring the Irish vote or bulldozing Irish opinion.
"Ireland clearly cannot be bound by changes which it has not ratified. Equally, there is no appetite for a return to years of institutional negotiation.
"The EU as a whole needs to find a way forward for all countries that allows the EU to focus on the big policy issues that confront us."
But Mr Miliband said the British government believed ratification of the treaty "should proceed as planned."
The European Union (Amendment) Bill, paving the way to British ratification, is set to clear the Lords this week.
Shadow foreign secretary William Hague said the vote in Ireland was an "inspiring example" of "democracy in action". He called on the British government to suspend the ratification process and make clear that "this treaty is finished".
The Irish people had been "courageous" in the face of threats from some EU politicians, he said.
Mr Miliband said the No vote on the treaty in the Irish referendum was "important because of our strong national interest in an effective EU and that vote needs to be respected".
He said there would be further discussion on Thursday and Friday, "not to take final decisions but to hear a preliminary report from the Irish Government and preliminary thoughts on the next steps".
He said 18 countries had approved the treaty and the Irish Government had "set out clearly" its respect for the right of other countries to complete the ratification process.
Conservative MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham Daniel Kawczynski accused the British government of "bullying" the Irish. "Surely by pursuing the ratification process in this country, and working with the French and Germans to ensure . . . other countries ratify the treaty, that is basic, but subtle, playground bullying tactics to ostracise Ireland and get it to think again."
Mr Miliband said: "You underestimate the Irish people if you think me, by talking to the French and Germans - as if that is some kind of sin in the European Union - is going to bully them into anything."
"There is absolutely no question of anyone trying to take away the democratic right of the people of Ireland.
"If they do not pass this treaty, then this treaty does not come into law."
- (PA)