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| Irish voters reject EU treaty |
| Dublin, 13.06.2008 |
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| By Tony Barber in Dublin
Published: June 13 2008 11:34 | Last updated: June 13 2008 22:01
The European Union was braced on Friday night for one of the most critical weeks in its 50-year history after Irish voters delivered a decisive rejection of the bloc’s Lisbon treaty – a document designed to make the EU a stronger global force.
Although the result plunged the EU into turmoil, its leaders insisted that other states continue to ratify the bloc’s Lisbon treaty and said they would try to address the crisis at a summit in Brussels next Thursday and Friday.
The treaty’s provisions, which cannot now come into force as planned at the beginning of next year, include the appointment of the EU’s first full-time president, a strengthened role for the EU’s foreign policy chief and increased powers for the European parliament and national parliaments.
Video
Quentin Peel on why Irish voters rejected the EU Lisbon treaty and how other member states will react
Brian Cowen, the Irish premier, said he saw “no quick fix”, adding: “In a democracy, the will of the people as expressed at the ballot box is sovereign. The government accepts and respects the verdict of the Irish people.”
Calling on other EU states to continue the task of approving the treaty, José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president, said: “The ratification process is made up of 27 national processes. Eighteen member-states have already approved the treaty, and the European Commission believes the remaining ratifications should continue to take their course.”
His message was echoed in a joint statement by Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy, the German and French leaders. In the UK, Gordon Brown vowed to complete the ratification of the treaty next week. However, one close ally said: “We will not be at the front of the queue calling for a second Irish vote.”
Thursday’s vote against Lisbon – officially put at 53.4 per cent to 47.6 per cent – plunged EU leaders into a crisis almost identical to that generated by Dutch and French voters when they threw out a proposed EU constitutional treaty in 2005.
Some European politicians suggested the latest crisis could tempt some member states, frustrated with the lack of progress towards European political unity, to press ahead with closer integration on their own.
“There will arise a debate about a Europe of two speeds, a debate about those states that want deeper European integration and those that don’t,” predicted Martin Schulz, the German leader of the European parliament’s socialist group.
Politicians in Dublin countered that Ireland belonged to the 15-nation eurozone, making it difficult to exclude it from core EU projects of economic integration.
At their summit, EU leaders will expect Mr Cowen to tell them why the Irish rejected Lisbon. Only later will they decide what steps are feasible to preserve the treaty’s reforms – or as many as politically possible.
The European Commission plans to conduct a “flash opinion poll” before the summit to try to determine why the No camp won. But politicians across Europe said on Friday night that a second referendum looked difficult to justify.
The result was a kick in teeth for the Irish political and business establishment. All the main parties were united in support of a Yes vote and had the backing of big companies and small business associations alike.
Government ministers blamed the outcome on “scare-mongering” by No campaigners who raised fears the treaty threatened Irish sovereignty and the Irish way of life on issues such as taxation, neutrality and abortion.
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Analysis: A hammer blow to Europe’s elite
Editorial comment: Time to put the EU treaty on ice
Irish ‘No’ leads to yet another European psychodrama
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