European Union leaders are due to attend a summit in Brussels which is likely to be dominated by Ireland's rejection of the EU treaty last week.

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European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso insists the setback should not paralyse the bloc.

The UK has ratified the treaty, which aims to streamline the enlarged EU.

The Treaty of Lisbon has now been approved by 19 member states out of 27.

Speaking on the eve of the two-day summit, Mr Barroso said Ireland's referendum "No" vote should not be a pretext for inaction at a time when people were concerned about rising oil and food prices.

But on Thursday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the German parliament that all EU member states needed to adopt the treaty. She dismissed talk that Ireland could be excluded from the treaty or that some sort of "two-speed" Europe could be created.

Our correspondent says the most that EU leaders can agree on for now is that they will continue ratifying the treaty, and see how far they get by the time they hold their next summit in October.

Unlike three years ago, when the EU was plunged into crisis by French and Dutch rejection of the European constitution, the UK has not put ratification on hold, she adds.

Soaring prices

The summit was due to examine soaring energy and food prices, which have led to protests across Europe and fuelled Irish opposition to the treaty.

Mr Barroso said the EU would back short-term measures to address social hardship, but he warned that high oil prices were here to stay and had to be tackled with long-term plans.

Our correspondent says the summit will reassure Balkan countries that they can join the bloc when they meet the required economic and political conditions, and back plans for an "eastern partnership" with former Soviet republics like Ukraine.

But diplomats say it will be difficult to continue with enlargement until the EU can agree on ways to work better, either with or without the reform treaty.

At the summit, the leaders will also turn their attention to the possibility of lifting sanctions on Cuba - as well as Zimbabwe's forthcoming elections.

(BBC)

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