Irish Greens split on EU treaty

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's Greens on Saturday failed to agree on whether to support or reject the EU's reform treaty, but they said it would not affect their alliance with Prime Minister Bertie Ahern's coalition, which backs the accord.

A motion in favour of supporting the treaty received 63 percent of votes at the party's convention, but failed to secure the two-thirds majority needed to pass it.

"It's now open to all members of the party to campaign as they see fit," Green Party leader John Gormley told reporters after the vote.

"I will be campaigning for a 'yes' vote. There is no implication whatsoever for the stability of the government," he added.

Ireland is the only country in the 27-nation European Union to hold a referendum to ratify the treaty this year, while others plan parliamentary votes.

A "no" vote in the country of 4 million could topple the entire project to reform the bloc's institutions after years of diplomatic wrangling.

The Greens only have 6 seats in Ireland's 166-seat Dail (lower house), but an outright rejection of the treaty would have been seen as an embarrassment for the governing coalition.

Earlier on Saturday, Green leaders had urged members to back the treaty but many in the party have opposed it over fears it will endanger Ireland's traditional military neutrality.

MILITARY NEUTRALITY

Frank Gallagher, a delegate from County Donegal, said he was inclined to reject the treaty as it could lead to more Irish soldiers sent overseas for peacekeeping, such as the planned EU mission to Chad, which will be led by an Irish general.

"I've sworn no son or grandson of mine will fight a foreign war," Gallagher told Reuters.

Green Party officials say the new EU reform treaty and the Irish constitution have sufficient safeguards for an able government to defend Ireland's neutrality.

In 2001 Irish voters rejected the Nice Treaty designed to enable EU enlargement, forcing the government to hold a second vote that was widely criticised as undemocratic at the time.

A second vote is unlikely to be an option in 2008. No date has yet been set for the referendum but it is expected in the first half of this year.

Greens campaigned against the Nice Treaty and their fervent defence of Irish neutrality helped mobilise the "no" vote.

Among Ireland's major parties only the nationalist Sinn Fein, with four seats in the Dail, has voiced opposition to the reform treaty.

The Green Party's six members of parliament and two senators said earlier this week they all supported a "yes" vote.

(Editing by Jon Boyle)