The Irish Government will decide within weeks on whether to hold another referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.
The Irish Government will decide within weeks on whether to hold another referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.
Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin has confirmed that proposals to resolve the impact of voters' rejection of the treaty would be tabled at the European Council meeting in Brussels on December 11.
He said a decision on having a second referendum would also be made before the summit.
The European Union reform was plunged into chaos in June when the Lisbon Treaty was rejected in an Irish referendum by 53.4% to 46.6%. Ireland was the only country to hold a referendum on the controversial treaty, which cannot be ratified without agreement from all EU states.
Pressure has been mounting from other European leaders for Irish politicians to revisit the issue.
Mr Martin said his government wanted to restore the goodwill Ireland had built up in the EU over many years.
"We want to be at the heart of European decision making,"
he said. "That would enable us to have some impact on decisions and strengthen our hand in negotiations on agriculture and budgets."
