Hlubok nad Vltavou, Czech Republic - Ireland's European Affairs Minister voiced confidence on Saturday that Irish voters would approve the EU's reforming Lisbon Treaty when it is put to them a second time later this year.
"Yes I am," Dick Roche told reporters, when asked if he was confident, on the sidelines of a two-day meeting of EU foreign ministers at Hluboka, in the south of the Czech Republic.
Roche stressed that the current Czech political crisis -- the PM has resigned after losing a confidence vote -- would have no effect on Ireland's ratification plans.
Ireland and the Czech Republic are among the few EU nations still to ratify the treaty which must be approved by all 27 member states in order to come into force.
Only the Irish are constitutionally bound to put the issue to a plebiscite. All other EU nations have been ratifying the treaty via the parliamentary route.
"We are independent decision makers... We are going to continue with our process," he said.
Roche said he was "very hopeful" that "as in Ireland (Czech) people see that the greater interest lies in the EU."
Ireland plunged the 27-nation EU into chaos last year when voters rejected the treaty, which is designed to improve decision-making in a greatly expanded bloc, but a new referendum will be held this year at a date yet to be decided.
Roche said his confidence that the last referendum result would be reversed was based on changes that have occurred since.
"The world is going through a massive change, that is going to impact how the public look at Europe. We know better now than we ever knew just how much a country like Ireland needs Europe," he said.
He pointed to a number of areas where Ireland was working to get guarantees to assuage concerns, such as an assurance that Dublin will retain its right to appoint a European Commissioner.
"We will be able to go up to the Irish people and say each and every one of your concerns has been met in a way that will withstand legal challenge.
"I am absolutely convinced they will," support the treaty he added.
However among his EU colleagues there were some fears that the Czech crisis could force Ireland to rethink its ratification plans.
If the treaty is not signed off by eurosceptic Czech President Vaclav Klaus ahead of the next EU summit in June "there will certainly be problems with the date fixed with the Irish for a referendum," said Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn.
The Czech lower house deputies have already approved the text but it must still go to the upper senate.
For Asselborn any more delays for the treaty could prove fatal, seeing it go down the same way as the original EU constitution plan it was drawn up to replace.
French and Dutch voters scuppered the constitutional project in 2005. They were not asked to vote on the Lisbon Treaty. - AFP