TRADE TALKS VETO:THE EUROPEAN Commission's Irish-born director general for trade, David O'Sullivan, has insisted that the status of Ireland's world trade talks veto will remain wholly unchanged if the Lisbon Treaty is adopted.
Mr O'Sullivan makes the clarification in a letter to Minister of State for European Affairs Dick Roche, which is dated last Tuesday, May 27th.
The letter refers to discussions Mr O'Sullivan had with Mr Roche about the circumstances in which unanimity would apply within the EU if a deal was brokered within the Doha round of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks.
Mr O'Sullivan states: "The position is quite simply that unanimity will apply: it applies now and it would apply under the Lisbon Treaty. This is the case because there would be issues included which require unanimous agreement. Therefore, the veto on the trade deal as a whole is open to any member state."
Mr Roche welcomed the statement yesterday and claimed it conclusively settled the argument on the veto issue. Some campaigners on the No side have said Ireland would lose its world trade talks veto if Lisbon was adopted.
The letter also refers to a detailed statement issued by the commission on the impact of the treaty on trade policy in general.
"In practice, trade deals contain elements which require unanimity. A dissenting member state thus has a veto over the conclusion of important international trade agreements, such as the WTO Doha negotiations," it says.
Mr O'Sullivan worked for the Department of Foreign Affairs for three years until 1979 and since then he has been a career civil servant in the European Union.
He was secretary general of the European Commission - the EU's top civil service post - for five years between 2000 and 2005 before transferring to his current position.
His successor as secretary general, Catherine Day, is also Irish.
