EU Research and Innovation Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn has voiced her strong support for the fiscal treaty on tighter budgetary discipline.
The Commissioner said she believed the treaty would ensure that the financial crisis experienced by the European Union will never happen again.
Ms Geoghegan-Quinn said the "basic fundamental issue" for everyone was for European leaders to find a solution "to ensure that we never go through again what we went through over the last number of years".
She added: "I believe that is what this treaty does."
The Commissioner said the robust discussion on the treaty in Ireland was "very welcome" because it was "very welcome to have a debate".
Ms Geoghegan-Quinn was speaking in Brussels while publishing the annual innovation performance scoreboard.
Elsewhere, the Taoiseach told the Dáil that the French President has said he intends to introduce a financial transaction tax in France, but that he has no intention of introducing a financial transaction tax in Ireland.
Enda Kenny said he had discussed this matter with British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Mr Kenny was responding to a question from United Left Alliance's Richard Boyd Barrett.
