Irish No ruffles Sarkozy's feathers

The Slovenian newspaper Vecer comments on the effect the Irish No to the Treaty of Lisbon is having on the EU summit in Brussels and the upcoming French EU Council presidency: "Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen came to Brussels with the message that the Irish need time. ... German Chancellor Angela Merkel ... also steadfastly believes that a solution must be found together with the Irish. ... However, [these plans] do not suit French President Nicolas Sarkozy in particular. ... He wanted to stand in the limelight as a European head of state with major international plans, and to increase his support at home by coming across as an 'important statesman'. But no doubt the Irish have done the Slovenian presidency and [Slovenian Prime Minister] Janez Janša a favour, because the Slovienian EU Council presidency can now end with an important summit."

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