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Sweden refuses fixed timetable to solve EU treaty crisis

AFP
AFP - [email protected]
Sweden refuses fixed timetable to solve EU treaty crisis

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt rejected Thursday the immediate setting of any fixed timetable for dealing with Ireland's "no" vote on the EU's reform treaty.

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"Do not push on time limits now, let's await answers in the autumn," he said, ahead of a summit of EU leaders in Brussels Thursday, where the bloc's institutional woes will top the agenda.

He told reporters that Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen had been "very clear that he has not got all the answers he needs, therefore it will have to be in the autumn ... so we have to relax until then."

The next EU summit is set for October.

On Thursday, the leaders will be seeking Cowen's assessment of why more than 53 percent of Irish voters rejected the treaty, which is meant to streamline the way the EU functions as it grows.

They will also look for suggestions for unblocking the impasse, and his view on whether Irish people could be persuaded to vote for an amended version of the treaty at a later date.

Earlier in Brussels, Cowen said "it is far too early yet for anyone to put forward proposals."

He said he was just beginning consultations with his European partners.

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