Irish PM refuses to contemplate EU treaty defeat

(DUBLIN) - Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen said Sunday he was confident Ireland would not deliver a second rejection of the EU's reform Lisbon treaty in a referendum later this year.

"I believe the people will say 'yes' on this occasion. I am just not prepared to contemplate defeat," he told RTE state radio.

Last week, Cowen secured legal guarantees from his European partners on issues of concern to Irish voters that contributed to the shock 53 percent rejection of the treaty in a referendum a year ago.

The guarantees, which are to become a protocol attached to a future EU treaty, affirm Ireland's military neutrality and taxation system, as well as its stance on social issues like abortion.

Cowen said that having dealt with those issues the campaign for the second referendum to be held in October would now be a broader argument about "where Ireland is going in the future and what role the EU would play."

"That's the issue and I believe that, as we have seen consistently, the Irish people will support our continued and effective and enthusiastic participation in the EU in the future."

The most recent polls show 54 percent would now vote 'yes' for the Lisbon treaty.

Support for the treaty has been growing as Ireland's former Celtic Tiger economy has sunk deeper into recession.

Cowen said the treaty would help Ireland deal with its economic crisis.

"It ensures we can come out of recession far more quickly by being part of an EU that is making decisions, that has institutions that can be more effective and efficient in their decision-making processes."

The treaty, designed to streamline the 27-nation bloc's decision-making, was a replacement for a planned EU constitution, which was scuppered by French and Dutch voters in 2005.

Only Ireland was constitutionally bound to put the treaty to a public vote. Almost all the other EU members have endorsed the treaty through votes in their national parliaments.