EUROPEAN DIARY:Gathering of EU foreign ministers at Avignon proves useful as Martin explores options, writes Jamie Smyth
EU FOREIGN ministers decamped to the papal city of Avignon in southern France at the weekend for their half-yearly informal meeting to discuss the state of world affairs.
The crisis in Georgia, Europe's relationship with the US and Russia and a proposed revision of the EU's security strategy, were top of the agenda. No decisions are taken at informal meetings, which instead enable ministers to get to know their counterparts while enjoying lavish meals and entertainment provided by the state hosting the EU presidency.
The highlight of the programme was an operatic performance of Carmen held in the cloister of Europe's largest gothic palace, the magnificent Palais des Papes. The building was home to the Avignon popes during the papal schism of the 14th century and the majestic setting for the EU meeting clearly wooed Europe's top diplomats.
It was Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin's first informal meeting, which are known as Gymnichs by EU insiders (they get their name from the German castle that hosted the first EU informal meeting in 1974), and he quickly got into the swing of things by shedding the ministerial tie and mixing with his colleagues.
Handed the keys to Iveagh House in May by Taoiseach Brian Cowen, the Cork TD must have thought he had hit the jackpot. The position is considered one of the glamour jobs in Government, with fewer political banana skins than portfolios such as justice, health and education.
But the rejection of Lisbon in the June 12th referendum changed all that and Martin now finds himself tasked with helping to solve one of Ireland's most difficult foreign policy challenges in its recent history.
In Avignon, the Lisbon Treaty was not on the agenda. But tensions provoked by the Irish No vote run close to the surface when ministers meet at an EU forum these days - a fact that has quadrupled the number of foreign journalists attending Irish press briefings. It is also causing Europe's politicians to become defensive when talking to the Irish media.
French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner, who was widely criticised for telling Irish voters just days before the referendum that they would be the first to suffer if they rejected the treaty, clearly still feels sore about the whole affair. Asked by The Irish Times to explain how he felt that the Lisbon Treaty would have strengthened the EU's hand vis-a-vis Russia, he rebuked his "dear" Irish friend for the timing of the question. He later repeated the Franco-German position that without Lisbon there would be no EU enlargement. The EU needs to strengthen its institutions before it can accept any new members, he said.
Pro-enlargement states such as Poland and Britain argue the bloc can be expanded under existing EU treaties. But opposition to further enlargement from Berlin and Paris clearly puts pressure on the Government to solve its Lisbon dilemma.
Croatia is on target to conclude its accession negotiations with Brussels by autumn 2009 and is seeking a 2010 date to become the 28th member of the EU.
On the fringes of the informal meeting in Avignon, Croatian foreign minister Gordan Jandrokovic warned the EU against holding his state's membership of the bloc "hostage" to the Irish No vote.
"We respect the will of the Irish people. At the same time, we hope that this decision will not be an obstacle for Croatia to become a member of the union," added Jandrokovic.
The carrot of EU membership has contributed hugely to stabilising the Balkans, persuading politicians and electorates to eschew nationalist politics. The re-election of Serbia's pro-western president Boris Tadic in February, his subsequent victory in parliamentary elections, and the recent arrest of war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic demonstrate the "Carmen-like" allure that EU membership continues to play.
The crisis in Georgia, Russia's aggressive stance on Europe's eastern border and continued political instability in Ukraine have underlined that so-called EU "soft power" may also play a positive role in that region if Lisbon can be implemented.
In Avignon, Martin said it was too early for the Government to signal how it intends to respond to the Lisbon dilemma. But he said "all options remain on the table" and floated the possibility of negotiating an opt-out from EU defence to counter the public's fear that Lisbon could in the future introduce conscription in Ireland. This opt-out, combined with assurances that Ireland can keep its commissioner and that the EU will not interfere in taxation or ethical policies involving abortion, may provide the basis for a "Lisbon 2" referendum.
But, as both Martin and Willie O'Dea have warned, opting out of EU defence would undermine the Defence Forces' capability as peacekeepers. It may also irritate Fine Gael, which has argued that Ireland should engage more in the defence sector.
This is just one of the tricky Lisbon questions that Martin will have to solve before he gets to relax properly at the EU informal meeting next year.