Swing in favour of Lisbon treaty

The latest poll shows that 51 per cent would now vote Yes to the treaty in a referendum, an increase of eight points since the last Irish Times poll in November, with 33 per cent saying they would vote No, a drop of six points. There are still 16 per cent in the “Don’t Know” category (down 2 points). When undecided voters are excluded, the Yes side has 60.7 per cent, with 39.3 per cent in the No camp. That compares to the referendum result last June of 53.4 per cent No and 46.6 per cent Yes.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/0216/breaking15.htm

EU plans to force second Lisbon vote

PLANS to isolate Ireland and force the country to hold a second referendum on the Lisbon treaty by next March were discussed at a European Union meeting 10 days ago.

Minutes of the event, and of a separate dinner with the French minister for European affairs, record how key French politicians and other MEPs said that Ireland should be put in an “untenable position” by pressing Poland and the Czech Republic to ratify the treaty by December.

The minutes were made available by a high-level source who attended both events. They tally with publicly available EU minutes but include direct quotes rather than the diplomatic language of the official record.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/ireland/article4969353.ece

Bilderberg Group says Ireland set for Lisbon 'dog house'

IRELAND will be in Europe's "dog house" if we reject the Lisbon Treaty in a second referendum, according to the chairman of the secretive global businesss organisation, the Bilderberg Group.

Viscount Etienne Davignon issued the stark caution in a rare interview ahead of addressing an international conference on Lisbon in University College Cork (UCC) on Wednesday.

"Ireland will be in the dog house if it says no for a second time", Davignon told the Sunday Tribune." The other states who ratified the Treaty have now become hostages of the Irish position and the Irish should have had some respect for the opinions of the other states.

http://www.tribune.ie/news/home-news/article/2008/oct/05/ireland-set-for-lisbon-dog-house/

McCreevy says Ireland must not be bullied by EU

EU Commissioner Charlie McCreevy says there is no question of Ireland being bullied by the EU into holding a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.

Speaking in Dublin today, he also dismissed speculation that the other 26 EU member states will ratify the treaty and leave Ireland behind.

Mr McCreevy said it would be an outrage if the other member states did not accept the decision of the Irish people, but he said he believed they would respect the Irish outcome.

He also said he strongly suspected that other EU member states would have rejected the treaty if it was put to a vote.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/mhgbgbkfqlid/