Cowen refuses to be drawn on Lisbon timetable

The Irish Times reports that amid growing speculation that the Irish government wants to hold a second referendum on the Lisbon treaty next autumn, taoiseach Brian Cowen refused to be drawn on the details of the plan he’s been briefing European leaders on this week.

The paper quotes him after his meeting with British premier Gordon Brown - one of the last stops in his whistlestop tour of Europe - as saying that discussions were still “ongoing” and represented a “work in progress”.

“What we're trying to do is set out what are the conditions, what are the means by which Ireland could consider looking at this issue again,” Cowen is reported to have said.

Meanwhile, the Financial Times says that EU leaders could get frustrated with Ireland if Cowen doesn’t provide a strict timetable for a second vote, as they want to bring Lisbon in by January 2010.

However, the paper goes on to say that Cowen’s leading Fianna Fáil party has slumped to an all-time low in opinion polls – due mainly to the strains of the financial crisis – and will be unwilling to hold a contentious vote too soon.

The paper quotes a recent statement by Dick Roche, Ireland’s EU affairs minister: “In practical terms it is going to take a long time to satisfy all the queries the Irish people have raised.”

In a separate story, the Irish Times quotes deputy prime minister Mary Coughlan as saying that no legislation is currently underway to enable a second vote: "There has been no final decision made on legislation. Therefore there are no proposals before the House regarding legislation arising from the discussions of the [Dáil] subcommittee [on Ireland's future in the EU]."

Ireland will formally present its plans to EU leaders at a summit in Brussels on 11-12 December, where it is expected to ask for guarantees on taxation, neutrality, abortion and the right to nominate a commissioner – all identified as reasons for the defeat of the treaty back in June.

EU concerned by Russian threats to cut gas to Ukraine

Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin has threatened to cut gas supplies to Ukraine, raising the prospect of a winter energy crisis in western Europe, reports the Telegraph.

Ukraine is struggling to pay off a huge debt for Russian gas that it bought earlier in the year, which it is feared may lead the country to keep some of the gas that is usually supplied to countries in the EU.

The Irish Times reports that this dispute over gas has brought back memories in western Europe of how Moscow cut fuel supplies to Ukraine during a similar row in 2006, causing shortages in Europe.

Dalai Lama urges Europe to talk to China

Speaking to MEPs on Thursday, the Dalai Lama said that dialogue with China was the best way to improve human rights there, Le Figaro reports.

The paper notes that the Tibetan spiritual leader gave a muted performance, as if saving his thunder for Saturday’s meeting with French president Nicolas Sarkozy.

But he did warn that China’s ambition to achieve superpower status depended on Beijing showing “moral authority” and that the country’s image was suffering “as a result of the lack of freedom”.

EU-wide bank guarantees needed, says financial expert

The creator of a widely respected plan that rescued Sweden from a banking crisis in the 1990s has said that the EU must implement a broad general guarantee for the banking system or there is a danger that Europe may go from recession into depression, reports the FT.

“The European Union should be part of the solution, not part of the problem. What is needed is a general guarantee for the entire banking system – not the fragmented approach currently in place. This is not working,” according to Urban Bäckström, director general of the Confederation of Swedish Enterprises.

Bäckström is also a former governor of the central bank and former state secretary in the finance ministry.

UK to host talks with EU leaders on financial reform

The UK is due to host a crunch summit with EU leaders to discuss the economic crisis next week, reports the Guardian.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and EU commission President Jose Manuel Barroso are due to hold talks with international business figures in London.

EU court rules anti-terror measures against Iran group as illegal

An EU court ruled on Thursday for the third time that member states must stop freezing the funds of an Iranian opposition group that has been placed on the EU's list of terrorist organisations, reports the IHT.

The European Court of First Instance said that national governments "violated the rights of defense" of the People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, or PMOI, and that governments have not provided sufficient proof to blacklist the group. The ruling will weaken the credibility of the EU's anti-terrorist measures, particularly the criteria it uses to define what it sees as "terrorist" organisations and individuals.