(DUBLIN) - Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen will travel to Luxembourg, Berlin, London and Paris this week for talks on the future of the stalled EU reform treaty, his office said on Tuesday.

Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon treaty in a referendum in June forced the European Union to put its plans for structural reform on hold.

The Dublin government is mulling whether to hold a second vote and is expected to decide by an EU summit in Brussels at the end of next week, on December 11-12.

Cowen's office said he will travel to Luxembourg on Wednesday to meet Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker and will then travel on to Germany for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel.

On Thursday Cowen will meet with Prime Minister Gordon Brown in London and on Friday he will travel to France for talks with President Nicolas Sarkozy, who holds the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union.

"The Taoiseach's (prime minister's) discussions with his European Council counterparts will focus on the situation in relation to the Lisbon Treaty ahead of next week's European Council," his office said.

"Other EU issues, notably the climate change and energy package and the international financial crisis, are also likely to feature."

Last month, Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said Ireland was seeking a guarantee from EU partners on retaining its commissioner in Brussels.

Martin was speaking after a poll suggested voters might back the Lisbon treaty if it was put to a second referendum with the country being allowed to keep its commissioner.

Ireland may also seek clarifying declarations that backing the treaty would not lead to the introduction of abortion, affect Ireland's policy of military neutrality or its low corporation tax regime.

After Irish voters rejected the Nice Treaty in 2001, the result was overturned the following year in a second referendum when clarifying declarations were given by other member states.

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