Paris  - French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the current president of the European Union, and Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen held talks on Wednesday in Paris on the future of the Lisbon Treaty, Sarkozy's office said.

According to a statement issued by the Elysee Palace, Cowen told Sarkozy that, at the October 15 EU summit, he would present the results of a study on the reasons for the rejection of the treaty in the June 12 referendum, which resulted in an institutional crisis for the EU and a freeze on taking in new members.

All 27 EU members must ratify the treaty for it to become law.

For his part, Sarkozy insisted that the treaty ratification process must continue, and that the aim of France, as current EU president, is to arrive at an agreement among all 27 members on how to proceed.

Sarkozy has previously said that he would like the Irish to vote again on the treaty. The French president and other EU leaders want to arrive at a solution to the impasse well before the next EU parliamentary elections, in spring of 2009. (dpa)