This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk_politics/7456731.stm

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
EU must give Ireland time - Brown EU must give Ireland time - Brown
(about 6 hours later)
Gordon Brown has said he expects European leaders will agree to give the Irish Republic "time to reflect" on its next steps over the EU treaty. Gordon Brown has said EU leaders must agree to give Dublin "time to reflect" on its next steps over the EU treaty.
Voters in the Republic - the only state to hold a referendum - rejected the treaty on Friday. The treaty needs to be ratified by all EU member countries. Voters in the Irish Republic - the only state to hold a referendum - rejected the treaty, which must be ratified by all 27 EU members, on Friday.
EU foreign ministers are meeting on Monday to decide what to do next - but Mr Brown said the UK would ratify it. Foreign Secretary David Miliband, after meeting EU colleagues, told MPs that ratification in the UK would go ahead.
Foreign Secretary David Miliband is to make a statement to the Commons later. Shadow foreign secretary William Hague said the UK should halt ratification and make clear the treaty was finished.
Mr Brown said the Bill to ratify the treaty would continue its progression through Parliament - despite 53.4% of Irish voters rejecting it in the referendum vote. The Bill to ratify the treaty is nearing the end of its progression through Parliament.
'Centralising project'
The House of Lords is due to hold the third reading of the Bill on 18 June.The House of Lords is due to hold the third reading of the Bill on 18 June.
Shadow foreign secretary William Hague said the "centralising project" should be abandoned. Economic reform
"The people of France, the people of Holland voted against a very similar document, the EU constitution," he said. There has been a long running campaign for there to be a British referendum on the treaty, which was drawn up after the EU constitution was killed off by referendum defeats in France and Holland.
"Now the people of Ireland have voted against this. A referendum had been promised by all the main parties on the constitution, but UK ministers have said a referendum was not needed on the EU treaty, claiming it did not have constitutional implications.
"It is time to turn away from this whole centralising project and concentrate on things that really matter, of global poverty, global warming, global competitiveness, that Europe should be dealing with." The Conservatives led calls for a referendum on the treaty, saying that it was virtually identical to the abandoned constitution.
During exchanges in the Commons Mr Hague said that the Irish Republic had displayed true democracy by holding a referendum and said that the result - 53.4% of Irish voters voted "no" - should be respected.
For the generally pro-EU Liberal Democrats, foreign affairs spokesman Ed Davey said the UK should not pre-judge what might happen at the meeting of EU leaders later this week.
He received an assurance from Mr Miliband that the UK would not ratify the treaty before the EU summit.
Mr Davey said the EU had worked adequately in recent times, so with or without the Lisbon treaty, the focus should now move on to concentrating on issues like economic reform and tackling terrorism.