"EU grapples with Irish 'No' vote...
EU grapples with Irish 'No' vote
Governments in the EU examine their options after Irish voters reject the Lisbon reform treaty in a referendum.Euro slides after Irish no vote
The euro falls against the dollar and sterling after Ireland rejects the EU's reform treaty in a referendum.Ireland Shoots Down Plan for a More Unified E.U.
DUBLIN, June 13 -- Irish voters resoundingly rejected a treaty designed to modernize the European Union, the second time in three years that European voters have shot down a complex proposal to create more authority and world influence at the bloc's Brussels headquarters.Ireland shows EU establishment the red card
The citizens of the only EU country to hold a popular vote on the Lisbon Treaty have rebuffed the Union's entire political class with a resounding "no" to the reform text, throwing the EU into yet another political crisis.Lessons from America for the EU
In the wake of the Irish rejection of the Lisbon Treaty, I hope that the reason for my quoting the following passage from James Bryce’s seminal The American Commonwealth is obvious.
This passage outlines, in part, what I envisage when I think of what the EU should be, even though it is talking of the United States of the late 19th century - and it is furthermore an essential lesson from history for the EU as whole (from the individual citizen to the highest of the political elites) to take on board. These words may well have been written well over a century ago, and America may well have changed substantially since they were first committed to paper (Bryce’s book was first published in 1888, after all) - but they still stand.
Irish 'No' leads to yet another European psychodrama
The bigger question raised by the Irish, French and Dutch votes is whether there remains enough solidarity to underpin the EU's legitimacy, writes John ThornhillIrish against Treaty but what are they for?
Here we go again. There are no new lessons to be learned. We already knew that the referendum is not an appropriate mechanism for approving a complex treaty. We already knew that the European Union has not successfully been ‘sold’ to its citizens. We already knew that a veto is unacceptableEurozone fears
Eurozone inflation fears intensified significantly yesterday with labour costs accelerating markedly and Germany saying prices had risen faster than expected last...Ireland and beyond
The 'no' campaign might have won...but it is fortunately unlikely that there arguments made the difference. It is possible that most voters decided to vote 'no' on the basis that they do not understand the treaty and not because they believe the nonsense dished out by the anti-EU groups. However this is exactly why we have representative democracy, where the parliament, which has been democratically legitimized makes this type of decisions.
Lisbon treaty rejected by the Irish
Only 50% of the 3 million registered Irish voters cast their votes yesterday in a referendum.That makes 1.6 million. A majority, appr. of 53.3% of these 1.6 million people said no (840.000), and around 46.6% said yes (750.000). The total population of the EU countries is 490 million.
Sinn Fein (IRA), was the only political Irish party which supported the No-campaign.
A new headache for the EU.
Brussels calls for Lisbon treaty ratification to continue
The Lisbon treaty and the Irish voter, Joseph Curtin Johnny Ryan
"The people have spoken." The pithy comment of the Republic of Ireland's justice minister Dermot Ahern as the votes were being counted from the country's referendum on the European Union's "reform treaty" on 12 June 2008 acknowledges both the victory of the "no" camp and the fact that the outcome (by a decisive margin of 54%-46%) poses anew questions about the way the EU and its twenty-seven member-states relate to their citizens.Time to put the EU treaty on ice
Europe does not need to turn the drama of the Irish No vote into a crisis of confidence. The priority should be to make the EU work better with its present rulesDoomed anthems
Traditional anthems glorify fallen heroes and celebrate the slaughter of dastardly foes. Such themes are tricky these days, and not just for KosovoA Crocodile with an appetite for Europe
Strasbourg’s famous ‘Au Crocodile’ restaurant has created a new Europe menu to mark the start of France’s EU Presidency.
EU’s future in Irish hands
EU leaders are holding their breath as Ireland goes to the ballot box tomorrow to decide on the fate of the Lisbon Treaty. Recent opinion polls have done nothing to calm nerves, with the "yes" camp maintaining only a whisker of a lead.IRELAND SAYS “NO” TO PLAN B, BUT DON’T WORRY, WE STILL HAVE PLAN C, PLAN D AND PLAN E
PEUT-ON SE REJOUIR DU NON IRLANDAIS?
Depuis que les résultats sont officiels, les communiqués triomphants des tenants du «non» français de 2005 pleuvent comme à Gravelotte. Autant il est logique que les souverainistes de droite se réjouissent d’un «non» qui plonge ses racines dans les mêmes sources idéologiques qu’eux (nation, famille, religion, libéralisme économique), autant on a quelques difficultés à comprendre l’enthousiasme du «non» de gauche qui se veut pro-européen. Sinon, au nom du principe que les ennemis de mes ennemis sont mes amis, ce qui…Ireland's 'No': a European View, John Palmer
John Palmer (London, author): This time it really is serious. The rejection by a majority of Irish people voting in the referendum to ratify the European Union Treaty of Lisbon has thrown not merely the fate of the treaty but the longer term prospects for European integration into the unknown. At the very least it will mean that most of the elementary reforms the EU needs to manage its affairs with an ever growing membership and an ever expanding array of global challenges will have to be put on hold – maybe for years.
