Government Favors EU Poll

The Irish Government is likely to press ahead with a referendum on the EU Constitution despite consecutive rejections of the treaty in France and Holland. Britain postponed holding a referendum following the setback in northern Europe but Ireland aligned with Poland and Denmark saying the constitution should be put to a national vote in each member state regardless. The decision on whether to stay with the existing treaty was discussed at the following European Council meeting in June. However, Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahem acknowledged that the French and Dutch outcomes “creates a very difficult situation.” On a visit to the U.N. in New York he said, “If other countries proceed to ratify (the Constitution) and they (France and Holland) are the only two remaining countries, then obviously that’s an issue they would have to address themselves. Different countries will have different views on how we proceed and we will just have to see how these are articulated.” ♦