European Union (EU) foreign ministers are meeting in Luxembourg on Monday and Tuesday to examine the consequences of Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon Treaty.
The Irish "No" vote is also expected to dominate the EU summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.
The EU faces a real problem as there is no quick fix for the deadlock. So far, 18 member states have ratified the Lisbon Treaty, designed to make key EU institutional reform possible.
The treaty, signed in December 2007 by the leaders of all EU nations, needs to be ratified by all 27 member countries before it can come into effect.
Ireland was the only country legally obliged to hold a referendum on the issue. All other EU member states are ratifying the document through their national governments.
Irish voters on Thursday shot down the treaty by a 53.4 percent majority.
The rejection was yet another serious blow to the EU after the rejection of a proposed constitution in 2005 by France and the Netherlands, also through referendums. The Lisbon Treaty was designed to salvage most parts of the constitution.
The EU has refused to declare the Lisbon Treaty dead and wants the ratification process to continue elsewhere in the bloc.
At the EU summit later in the week, Ireland's new Prime Minister Brian Cowen will be asked to offer his opinion on the chances of holding a new referendum. Cowen said Sunday that he had not ruled out or ruled in anything.
However, concerns remain that a second referendum might once again end in failure, bringing humiliation to both Ireland and the EU.
"It is far too early for proffering any solutions or proposals," Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said upon arrival in Luxembourg on Monday, "There are no quick-fix solutions."
Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, who chairs the foreign ministers' meeting, said it was up to Dublin to come up with an idea.
"I don't have any solutions," he said.
The Irish rejection means EU leaders would certainly be unable to put the treaty into effect as planned on January 1, 2009, in time for new elections to the European Parliament.
It appears that the leaders are looking for the completion of ratification by all other EU member states by the end of 2008. Then, Ireland will be offered concessions so that a second referendum can be held, like what happened in 2001 with the Nice Treaty.
Ireland rejected the Nice Treaty in a referendum in 2001. A second vote was successful after the treaty was amended in a way that Ireland's military neutrality was guaranteed.
Concessions this time may include the preservation of a member of the European Commission for each member state and permanent national vetoes on taxation.
Under the Lisbon Treaty, the European Commission, which is the EU's executive body, will be composed of representatives from two thirds of EU member states, instead of from each country as it stands now. The treaty also expands the policy areas where majority voting will be used for decision making.
The charter also creates the posts of an EU foreign policy chief and a permanent president of the European Council, which comprises heads of state and government of the member states.
Another option to end the treaty impasse is to put some of the reforms contained in the Lisbon Treaty into the accession treaty of Croatia, which may join the EU in 2010 or 2011.
This alternative, however, will further water down the Lisbon Treaty as not all reforms can be put into the accession treaty.
The foreign ministers will also discuss a program of the EU presidencies in the coming 18 months, designed by France, the Czech Republic and Sweden.
Besides, the ministers will sign a Stabilization and Association Agreement with Bosnia in a preliminary step toward EU membership for the Western Balkan country.
(Xinhua News Agency June 17, 2008)
