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Barroso warns we'll all pay price if Lisbon rejected

Ireland and the rest of Europe will ‘pay a price' if they vote ‘No' to the Lisbon Treaty referendum, stressed European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso last night. By Pat Holland - 27/05/08

Ireland is the only one of the 27 EU members States to hold a referendum on the Treaty.

Mr Barroso said that if the Reform Treaty was rejected, the results would be negative for all European countries, including Ireland.

His strong comments may well be used to fuel the ‘No’ campaign, to show the way Europe is trying to convince Ireland into a ‘Yes’ vote.

If the referendum is not carried by Irish voters, Mr Barroso said there was no ‘Plan B’ in place, and the EU may well be left with ongoing problem of institutional reform for years to come.

"We will all pay a price for it, Ireland included, if this is not done in a proper way," he commented at the European Policy Centre think-tank in Brussels.

The last opinion poll about the treaty shows 'Yes' vote at 41pc, down three points, and the 'No' vote at 33pc, up five..

Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin said the EU's concessions on agriculture at world trade talks are still "unacceptable" to Ireland.

He said Ireland continued to harbour "very serious concerns" about the latest negotiating position revealed at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks by EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, Northern Ireland’s former Secretary of State for.

The Irish Farmers' Association could sway the entire outcome, as they are more or less threatening to vote 'No' if they are not content with the outcome of the WTO negotiations.

Mr Cowen said yesterday that opinion polls were merely snapshots of the situation in that moment, and said the fact remained that it was in Ireland's interest to vote Yes to Lisbon.

"We're only halfway through this campaign, and I'm betting a very positive message on the ground," he added.