* EU hopes for deal to ease concerns of Irish voters
* Britain seeking clarification on wording - diplomat
* EU leaders aim to endorse Barroso for second term
* Leaders want fast progress on financial regulation reform
(Adds Barroso letter and speech, edits)
By Timothy Heritage
BRUSSELS, June 16 (Reuters) - The European Union moved
closer to a deal on Tuesday to offer Ireland legal guarantees on
national sovereignty that would increase the chances of Irish
voters backing a treaty reforming EU decision making.
Ireland is confident a deal will be reached in time for EU
leaders to approve it at a two-day summit starting on Thursday.
The Irish government would then be likely to hold a second
referendum on the Lisbon reform treaty in September or October.
The leaders will also back Jose Manuel Barroso for a second
term as president of the executive European Commission at the
summit, discuss financial regulatory reforms, step up the fight
against unemployment and plot strategy for U.N. climate talks.
"There is a broad consensus on the text. The only country
still wavering is Britain," an EU diplomat said of negotiations
in Brussels on a draft of the proposed guarantees.
After Irish voters rejected the treaty in a referendum last
June, Dublin is seeking assurance on issues including taxation,
abortion and military neutrality, and wants to continue to have
a representative on the European Commission.
Britain had said the assurances on national sovereignty in
military matters should be worded to make clear it applied to
all EU states, not just Ireland, a second EU diplomat said.
While all accepted the final text would be legally binding,
Britain also wanted more debate on which legal instrument the EU
should choose to express the guarantees, the diplomat added.
Ireland's referendum is vital because reforms intended to
streamline decision making in the EU and give it more weight on
the world stage can go into force only if all 27 member states
approve the Lisbon treaty.
Opinion polls suggest the treaty now has the support of a
majority of Irish voters, many of whom look to Europe as a
shield in the global financial crisis.
BARROSO FACES OBSTACLES
Barroso wrote to EU leaders on Tuesday to call for progress
at the summit on leading Europe out of financial crisis,
rebuilding the EU's financial supervisory system and protecting
jobs. Soaring unemployment has caused fears of a social crisis.
"Now we must continue to take co-ordinated action within the
EU, to minimise job losses and return as quickly as possible to
a path of sustainable growth. And we must speak with one voice
on the global stage," he said in a speech.
Barroso had hoped the summit would give him a legally
binding endorsement for a new five-year term but diplomats said
he may receive only a political statement saying he has the EU
leaders' confidence.
Some states want to delay his formal nomination until the
Lisbon treaty goes into force because the structure of the new
Commission and the ratification process for the president will
change under it. Others say that would leave a power vacuum.
Barroso, 53, a conservative former prime minister of
Portugal, has headed the EU's executive since 2004. His allies
say he would offer stability at a time of economic crisis.
Daniel Cohn-Bendit, a Green deputy at the European
Parliament, has launched an anti-Barroso campaign, saying
Barroso has promoted free markets at the expense of social
concerns, but so far no one else is standing for the job.
The EU leaders will call at the summit for progress on
reforming the financial regulatory system to prevent another
global economic crisis, including regulation of alternative
investment funds and improved capital requirements for banks.
They are also set to approve the creation of two new bodies
to assess potential threats to financial stability and protect
small financial firms and consumers, and call for the new
regulatory framework to be in place in 2010.
The action coincides with U.S. President Barack Obama's plan
to outline regulatory reforms on Wednesday, targeting critical
weaknesses in the U.S. financial system such as thin bank
capital cushions and eroded lending standards.
