Way to go Ireland!
Posted on 06/13/2008 7:58:10 AM PDT by Dawnsblood
Substantial election returns showed Friday that Ireland's voters have rejected the European Union reform treaty, a blueprint for modernizing the 27-nation bloc that cannot become law without Irish approval.
Several senior Irish government figures conceded defeat for the treaty, which would be a major blow to the EU.
An EU constitution failed after French and Dutch voters rejected it in 2005. Ireland was the only member that subjected its would-be successor, the Lisbon Treaty, to a national vote. The Irish constitution requires all EU treaties to be ratified by referendum.
Justice Minister Dermot Ahern said he expected all other 26 EU members to ratify the Lisbon Treaty through their national parliaments by the end of this year.
This would leave Ireland diplomatically isolated but nonetheless wielding the power to prevent the treaty from becoming law and forcing a period of renewed negotiations.
"Obviously it's disappointing. It's quite clear there's a very substantial `no' vote," said Ahern, who noted that 58 percent of voters rejected the treaty in his home district.
"If we're left as the only country that has not ratified the treaty, it will obviously raise questions. We're in uncharted waters," he said.
National vote tallies compiled by election observers and backed by early official returns from Thursday's vote showed the "no" camp winning the vast majority of Ireland's 43 electoral constituencies.
"This is a huge rebuff to the political establishment. It shows there is massive distrust among ordinary working people," said Joe Higgins, the sole Socialist Party member in the Irish parliament.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
We’re all Irish today! God bless ‘em.
Having removed the British boot from their necks they are understandable reluctant to replace it with an EU boot.
Good for them - its likely they will retain their pro-business environment which is the cause of the economic success in recent years. I wish the socialists in Wash., D.C. would take note.
Way to go Ireland!
No doubt they’ll be given additional opportunities to vote correctly.
The Irish were the only people to vote on the treaty.
Otherwise 20 more countries would have rejected it.
Any elections scheduled to approve or reject continued Islamization?
Freedooooommmmm!
(From unelected Eurocrats!)
Yay! for the scruffier district. They must be those bitter clingers, clinging to independence and self-rule.
Captain Moonlight!
Bwahahahahaha!
Ireland ping! It’s (almost) official: NO!
Exactly my thought, too.
Well, the fact that you're also the only country where "the people" were allowed to vote on the issue just "might" have something to do with it. I suspect if other countries held similar referenda, that the story would be a LOT different from the current state of affairs.
***The Irish were the only people to vote on the treaty.***
***Otherwise 20 more countries would have rejected it.***
That’s what mostly caught my attention, too. The PEOPLE got to speak.
.............................ERIN GO BRAGH...........................
Bravo, Ireland!
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