The process of attaching special Irish “guarantees” on abortion, neutrality and tax to the EU treaties moved a step forward when a committee of MEPs voted to approve the measure.
After the rejection of the first Lisbon Treaty referendum, EU leaders decided to grant the guarantees in mid-2009 ahead of the second referendum. The guarantees are to be attached to the treaties as a binding protocol to the accession treaty for Croatia, which was signed in December.
The constitutional affairs committee of the European Parliament decided to adopt the protocol without holding a convention and gave a positive opinion on the protocol itself. The matter next goes to a vote of the wider parliament, following which it will return to member states.
The holder of the EU’s rotating presidency – currently Denmark – will convene an intergovernmental conference to adopt the protocol, at which point it will be signed and ratified by member states, in line with their national procedures.
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