When I arrived in Dublin a couple of days ago, I was greeted by hundreds of signs plastered around the town, urging readers to vote Yes or No.
“YES - Put Ireland at the heart of Europe.”
“NO - Ireland can do better”
I quickly realized that this was more than just a minor election; Ireland was voting on whether to accept the Lisbon Treaty - the new version of the European Union (EU) constitution. The first day of our women’s Ireland tour was the day the results were announced, and we discovered that Ireland said NO to Europe.
From what we’ve heard here, the No votes were largely a result of
… a) fears (fueled by the No backers), that a Yes could lead to anything from EU taxes to abortion to conscription into an EU army, and
… b) general protest vote of unhappiness with gas prices, food prices, immigration, and any other problems.
The treaty had to be ratified by all 27 member nations. Other countries approved it by government action without a referendum, but Ireland’s constitution required voter approval. Their No vote is effectively a veto.
So what’s the world’s reaction? And what happens next?
- EU government leaders are shaking their heads in frustration, but many citizens of other countries are happy. They say they would have voted No too, but their governments didn’t give them a chance to vote.
Associated Press: Would-be voters support Irish veto of EU treaty - Many of the treaty measures are likely to be passed “by stealth”, via existing EU powers, bypassing the veto.
Telegraph: EU Treaty likely to be imposed by stealth - Some countries are considering splitting the EU into tiers: Those that want closer integration could form their own “club of the few”, while countries like Ireland would be delegated to a lower tier of involvement.
International Herald Tribune: Split emerges in EU after Irish rejection of Lisbon Treaty
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I’m in Ireland right now for our Ireland tour for women. We’re having a great time, and all the political doings are adding a little extra excitement. I know we’ll all be watching this more closely once we get home!
7 responses so far ↓
1 Ireland must do EU revote - says who? Sarkozy? // Jul 20, 2008 at 2:50 pm
[...] we were in Ireland, they had a national referendum on the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty. Ireland voted NO, with 53% against - thus blocking the treaty, which required approval by all 27 EU [...]
2 bob // Jul 21, 2008 at 9:26 am
thanks for the eye witness post. it’s interesting to see the viewpoint of someone in-country on this important issue. It will be interesting to see what actions will betaken by the rest of the E.U.
3 Candace // Jul 21, 2008 at 10:08 am
Amazing that all these “democratic” governments are not allowing their citizens to vote on something this important. I’m glad to see Ireland voted NO on this. Of course the larger nations will find some way to make sure Ireland “pays” for not going along with the plan.
4 david // Jul 21, 2008 at 10:21 am
interesting blog-Basically they voted no because they felt their autonomy was threatened.So Ireland is the only country in the EU that requires referendum?The EU must find a legal way around this situation.
5 mary // Jul 21, 2008 at 3:55 pm
I think it will be best if ireland stays with the popular vote and does not allow a stealth… This will keep the taxes and gas prices down…
6 rick // Jul 22, 2008 at 8:11 pm
I think they should say no, other country’s can’t mess with Ireland!
7 Kate // Jul 24, 2008 at 6:56 am
It’s refreshing to see that Ireland has given voters the chance to have their say - this hasn’t happened in a lot of so-called democratic European countries, including the UK. I’m surprised that they voted ‘no’ as Ireland has seemed much more European-minded than the UK in recent years (perhaps as a result of all the EU funding they’ve received for regeneration?)
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