The bullying of Ireland continues

According to an article in the International Herald Tribune this morning:

Under fierce pressure to resolve the crisis prompted by its no vote on the Lisbon Treaty, Ireland pleaded Monday for more time to find a solution but kept open the option of holding a second vote after a period of reflection.

After a weekend in which supporters of closer European integration in Germany and France raised the prospect of a two-speed Europe - with Ireland in the second tier - foreign ministers lowered the temperature at their meeting in Luxembourg, while insisting that the treaty remained alive.

As it happens, Germany has not ratified the Constitutional Reform Lisbon Treaty either. The President will not sign until the Constitutional Court at Karlsruhe decides whether the Treaty is consistent with the German constitution or not. So far it has not even started deliberating