WHAT THE EU TREATY OF LISBON DOES(legally accurate).

[dogmadestroyer]

Lisbon: Martin says lack of information a big issue
http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0613/eulisbonreax.html
13 June 2008

[Sub-X]

 


This is my dedication to the EU 
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=g2RskJVFUoQ

[Sub-X]

National constituencies

From 19 constituencies so far.

YES 45.5%

NO 54.7%


      

[Sub-X]

No vote shocks Europe
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/no-vote-shocks-europe-1408645.html
June 13 2008

Ireland has voted ‘No’ to the Lisbon Treaty with Taoiseach Brian Cowen likely to have some explaining to do when he meets his European counterparts in Brussels next week.

With almost 12% of results declared, the 'no' side is ahead by around 54% to 46%, despite all the main political parties campaigning for a 'yes'.

The 'no' vote is in the majority in eight of the 10 constituencies to have so far reported their results.Tallies from the rest of the country also indicate that the 'no' side is ahead in most areas.

The swing towards the ‘No’ vote has taken many pundits by surprise with the euro falling to its lowest price against the dollar in over a month.

The failure of the treaty to pass a popular vote will throw the EU into doubt as the document needs to be ratified by all 27 member states in order to become law.

The people of Waterford are the latest to officially declare that they had rejected the treaty with 54 percent voting ‘No’ and 46 percent voting ‘Yes’.

Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern has already officially conceded that the treaty has failed to impress Irish people. “It looks like this will be a 'no' vote,” he said. “At the end of the day, for a myriad of reasons, the people have spoken.”

The official result is expected later this afternoon though the current strength of the ‘No’ vote is unlikely to change the final outcome.

The unofficial result is bad news for the EU as politicians across the continent admitted there was no ‘plan B’.

“If the Irish people decide to reject the treaty of Lisbon, naturally, there will be no treaty of Lisbon,” French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said yesterday

Ireland is the only country to put the treaty to a popular vote. The document includes many of the reforms rejected by Dutch and French voters in 2005.

Despite the many economic benefits which Ireland has enjoyed as a result of its membership to the EU, some politicians say the recent economic downturn is to blame.

“We believe people are upset are rising costs of food, mortgages and clothing. That we believe is as much a reason for today’s result as any public apathy towards Europe,” said one government minister.

The treaty, intended to make the EU stronger and more effective, according to its supporters which included all the main political parties in Ireland.

But while Ireland ranks in surveys as one of the EU's most pro-European states, opponents have argued strongly that the treaty reduces small countries' clout and gives Brussels new foreign and defence policy powers that undermine Ireland's historic neutrality.

The treaty envisages a long-term president of the European Council of EU leaders, a stronger foreign policy chief and a mutual defence pact, and changes the rules for decision making.

[dogmadestroyer]

 


This is my dedication to the EU 
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=g2RskJVFUoQ

Nice. I know I threw alot of Skyclad into the one thread but I thought of this song. (no youtube)  

Desperanto (A Song for Europe)
This is our song for Europe,
I thought we saw the borders fall?
Guerre sans Frontiers -
And it seems nothing changed here at all.

They're building a Tower of Babel in Brussels -
It's called the Euromisery,
And once we're inside they'll take us for a ride.

Placing life and death decisions in the hands of politicians,
Poltroons playing judge and jury - like alcoholics in a brewery.

This is our anthem of nations,
Another treaty signed in vain.
It's a knockout! -
Hope falls to the canvas again.

It's an uncommon market - we're all Eurosexual,
I want an E.C. lay, and when I'm inside she'll take me for a ride.

Passing laws on moral issues -
Sticky fingers holding tissues.
Pyromaniacs with fire who light the fuse and then retire.

This is our song for Europe,
I thought we saw the borders fall?
Guerre sans Frontiers -
And it seems nothing changed here at all.

A well cultured vulture feathers his nest,
It's a chalet near Aix-en-Provence,
The Porche he drives has been paid for with lives.

Starve the pure and feed corruption,
Walk the path to self destruction,
Open old wounds - turn them septic,
Save us all from Euro-sceptics.

This is our anthem of nations,
Another treaty signed in vain.
It's a knockout! -
Hope falls to the canvas again.

[Sub-X]

Nice. I know I threw alot of Skyclad into the one thread but I thought of this song. (no youtube)  

Desperanto (A Song for Europe)
This is our song for Europe,
I thought we saw the borders fall?
Guerre sans Frontiers -
And it seems nothing changed here at all.

They're building a Tower of Babel in Brussels -
It's called the Euromisery,
And once we're inside they'll take us for a ride.

Placing life and death decisions in the hands of politicians,
Poltroons playing judge and jury - like alcoholics in a brewery.

This is our anthem of nations,
Another treaty signed in vain.
It's a knockout! -
Hope falls to the canvas again.

It's an uncommon market - we're all Eurosexual,
I want an E.C. lay, and when I'm inside she'll take me for a ride.

Passing laws on moral issues -
Sticky fingers holding tissues.
Pyromaniacs with fire who light the fuse and then retire.

This is our song for Europe,
I thought we saw the borders fall?
Guerre sans Frontiers -
And it seems nothing changed here at all.

A well cultured vulture feathers his nest,
It's a chalet near Aix-en-Provence,
The Porche he drives has been paid for with lives.

Starve the pure and feed corruption,
Walk the path to self destruction,
Open old wounds - turn them septic,
Save us all from Euro-sceptics.

This is our anthem of nations,
Another treaty signed in vain.
It's a knockout! -
Hope falls to the canvas again.

Excellent lyrics,what year is that track from

[dogmadestroyer]

'95 on Silent Wales of Lunar Sea.


BTW you should go back over to the Jesus is God thread now. 

[Sub-X]

'95 on Silent Wales of Lunar Sea.


BTW you should go back over to the Jesus is God thread now. 

Very prophetic lyrics man. 

[rick reuben]

No vote shocks Europe
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/no-vote-shocks-europe-1408645.html
June 13 2008

This will set them back 12-18 monthes. More time for people to educate themselves to the scams of the globalists. Good work.

[menace]

Irish voters have rejected the European Union's Lisbon treaty in a referendum, the government acknowledged, potentially scuppering EU reform plans.

Justice Minister Dermot Ahern conceded the vote shortly after noon as tallies from around the country showed the treaty had been defeated in an overwhelming number of constituencies.

"It looks like this will be a 'No' vote," Ahern told RTE television. "At the end of the day for a myriad of reasons the people have spoken."

Ireland is one of the most pro-European countries in the bloc and the only one to entrust its voters with a referendum on the treaty, which replaces an EU constitution rejected by Dutch and French voters in 2005.

RTE said tallies showed the treaty would be carried only in a handful of constituencies, mainly in the capital Dublin.

The victory for the "No" camp means a country with fewer than 1 percent of the EU's 490 million population could wreck a treaty painstakingly negotiated over years by leaders of all 27 member states.

The euro currency fell to its lowest level in over a month against the dollar after the first reports suggesting a "No" victory, which could doom the entire EU reform project. European governments say there is no "plan B".

"If the Irish people decide to reject the treaty of Lisbon, naturally, there will be no treaty of Lisbon," French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said late on Thursday.

However, other French officials have said work on the treaty could continue. France assumes the rotating EU presidency in a matter of weeks and was supposed to be in charge of setting up the new system which would take effect at the start of the year.

The treaty, intended to make the EU stronger and more effective, had the backing of the three main political parties in Ireland, which has prospered under EU membership. Farmers groups, businesses and many labour unions also backed it.

On polling day bookmakers were still taking bets giving it overwhelming odds to pass.

But while the country ranks in surveys as one of the EU's most pro-European states, opponents say the treaty reduces small countries' clout and gives Brussels new foreign and defence policy powers that undermine Ireland's historic neutrality.

It wasn't the first time Irish voters have shocked the EU. They almost wrecked the bloc's plans for eastward expansion in 2001 by rejecting the Nice treaty, but the government staged a second referendum in which that pact passed.

The government has said it is not considering a re-run this time around.

The Lisbon treaty envisages a long-term president of the European Council of EU leaders, a stronger foreign policy chief and a mutual defence pact.

Fourteen countries have already ratified the treaty in their national parliaments.

EU leaders meeting in Brussels next week are expected to reaffirm their commitment to it and may ask Ireland to indicate how it intends to proceed.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/080613/2/179rs.html

[Sub-X]

Ireland rejects Lisbon Treaty
http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0613/eulisbon.html
13 June 2008

Irish voters have rejected the Lisbon Treaty.

With results in from all 43 constituencies, the Lisbon Treaty has been defeated by a margin of 53.4% to 46.6%.

A total of 752,451 people voted in favour of the treaty and 862,415 voted against.

Just eight of the constituencies - Clare, Dublin South, Dublin South East, Dublin North, Dublin North Central, Dún Laoghaire, Kildare North and Meath East - voted in favour of the Treaty. 

As the first results came in, it became apparent that opponents of the Treaty had in many places improved on the share of the vote they won in the first Nice referendum.

And unlike that vote, the defeat of the Lisbon Treaty cannot be blamed on apathy, with a high turnout recorded for a referendum.

Waterford was the first constituency to declare an official result - and it was unequivocal, rejecting Lisbon by 54-46.

This morning's tallies showed the strength of the No vote across the country, with just a handful of constituencies looking like they would vote Yes.

The margin of victory for the No side may be a bit tighter than was suggested in the initial tallies - but there seems little doubt that it is a victory.

The No vote was strong in many rural areas and in working class districts of cities, while middle class areas appeared to be less supportive of the treaty than had been anticipated.

In urban areas, middle class areas by and large appeared to have voted in favour of the treaty - but not by the normal large margin, and not by enough to counteract the large No in working class areas.

Each constituency is counting its own votes separately, before sending the result to the Referendum Returning Officer in Dublin Castle, who will announce the overall result.

Turnout is thought to have been higher than in the first Nice Referendum, which was defeated, but lower than in the second, which was passed.

[Sub-X]

Brian Lenihan being shouted down during an interview at the RDS count center in Dublin.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0613/1news_av.html?2387008,null,230

[Sub-X]

Lisbon No vote: What happens next?
http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0613/eulisbon2.html
13 June 2008

With Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon Treaty, politicians and pundits in Ireland and across Europe are talking about what will happen next.

'We are in uncharted territory' according to Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan.

It remians unclear exactly what course the EU and Ireland will follow, but the ratification process in other countries looks set to continue.

The ratification of the Lisbon Treaty 'must continue' in other member states despite Ireland's rejection in a referendum, European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso has stressed.

'The ratification process is made up of 27 national processes, 18 member states have already approved the treaty, and the European Commission believes that the remaining ratifications should continue to take their course,' Mr Barroso told journalists.

France's European affairs minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet said the EU could negotiate a 'legal arrangement' with Ireland to avert a crisis.

But he agreed, along with other European leaders who have made statements, that 'the most important thing is that the ratification process must continue in the other countries.'

'Then we shall see with the Irish what type of legal arrangement could be found,' the French minister said.

Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek warned that the Irish result would lead to 'political complications'.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said even with a No vote on the Lisbon Treaty, the EU would look for ways to bring the treaty into effect. He said the referendum in Ireland won't disqualify the treaty.

Antonio Missiroli of the European Policy Centre think-tank said the vote triggered a European political crisis that required strong leadership in Ireland, in Brussels and key member states.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen appeared to rule out a second referendum during the campaign. The fact that Ireland has already been made to vote again once after it rejected the Nice treaty in 2001 makes the idea improbable, but not impossible.

In the short term, the Irish vote means the new positions of a permanent president of the European Council of EU leaders and a stronger foreign policy chief with a real diplomatic service will be delayed.

The EU will be weakened internationally, notably in dealings with difficult powers such as Russia and Iran, by having to limp on with dysfunctional foreign policy and defence institutions, and by the sheer loss of face, diplomats said.

Pending legislation to fight climate change, promote energy efficiency and open the EU internal energy market to more competition should not be delayed by the Irish vote, they said.

[Sub-X]

Alert: Euro-federalists already planning to subvert Irish Referendum results
http://www.nationalplatform.org/wordpress/?p=90
13 June 2008

Foreign Minister Michael Martin and other Irish Euro-federalists  are already planning to subvert the Lisbon Treaty referendum result by urging the other EU States to continue with their ratification process instead of telling them  that Ireland cannot ratify the Lisbon Treaty as it stands, and that further ratifications elsewhere are therefore pointless, and the Treaty must be reopened.

EU Treaties must be ratified unanimously. Each country ratifies a Treaty on the assumption that all other countries will do so too. If one country says that it cannot ratify a Treaty as it stands - in  Ireland’s case because the Irish people have rejected it -  there is no point in the other countries proceeding, and the Irish Government should  request them to stop.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen now faces a momentous choice.

Will he align himself with his own people and respect the Irish people’s vote by telling his EU colleagues that Ireland cannot ratify Lisbon as it stands, and therefore there is no  point in the remaining  States  continuing with their ratifications?

Or will be align himself with the other EU States against the Irish people, and urge the former to proceed with their ratifications on the assumption that Ireland will re-run the referendum when everyone else has ratified, as Bertie Ahern did with Nice.  For that is the implication of other EU States now proceeding with ratifying the Treaty with the Irish Government’s  encouragement.

Mr Bobby McDonagh and the top civil servants in Iveagh House will already be planning a joint response with France and Germany  to insist on the ratification process continuing.  Foreign Minister Martin’s comments on lunchtime radio today about other countries “of course” continuing with their ratifications,  reflects the policy the Iveagh House people will be urging.

The Irish No vote is on a much more substantial turnout than the 35% of Nice One in 2001. The No majority is much stronger.  It reflects much wider concern at the way  the EU project is going. Representative members of the Irish political class have broken with the predominant uncritical  consensus on the Euro-Federalist project  - Shane Ross, Declan Ganley, Bruce Arnold, Ben Dunne, Gay Byrne, Ulick McEvaddy, Prof. Ray Kinsella, Gerard Hogan,

This provides Ireland and Europe with  an opportunity to take a fundamental look at the EU integration process.

Neither the Irish people  nor the peoples of the other EU countries want an EU  that is given the constitutional form of a State, as the Lisbon Treaty  and the EU Constitiution proposed, even though this issue was not highlighted in the referendum.  The peoples of Europe will not tolerate such a fundamental subversion of their national democracy and independence.  Even if this federalised EU were  to be brought off, it would not be sustainable.

Instead of the “period of reflection” which was supposed to follow the French and Dutch No votes in 2005, and which turned out to be an excuse for repackaging the rejected Constitution in the form of the  Lisbon Treaty, Europe now needs a period of consultation - with its own peoples, with citizens everywhere -   and not just a matter of Brussels talking to Brussels.

The best course now is to return to the aspirations of the Laeken Declaration, which called for democracy, transparency and closeness to the people.  The EU Member States should now go back to the drawing-board, for their own sakes, for Ireland’s sake and for Europe’s.

Fundamental to any new Treaty is Lisbon’s population-based voting system  which is not acceoptable to Ireland or to other smaller States,  for it represents a power-grab by the Big  States. Each State must retain its national Commissioner, a demand that does not require the opening of the Treaty.

Each State  must retain the right  to decide  who  its national Commissioner is, instead of that right being altered to a right to make “suggestions” only.  Any future new Treaty  should contain  special Protocols to safeguard Ireland’s position as regards company taxation, public services, fundamental rights or mutual defence commitments. Laws in Brussels should only be made by people who are directly elected to make them, eitherin the European  Parliament or National Parliaments.  These are fundamental principles of democracy.

[Godfather77]

    

UK to press ahead with EU Treaty
Friday, 13 June 2008 18:39 UK
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7453084.stm

Foreign Secretary David Miliband says the UK must ratify the EU Treaty despite its rejection by Irish voters. The result of the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty should be "respected and digested" but the UK "must keep the ratification process going" he said.

EC President Jose Manuel Barroso said it will be discussed next week but the Tories said it must be "declared dead".

Ireland was the only member state to hold a public vote on the treaty, which must be ratified by all 27 countries.

Mr Barosso called on other members states to continue ratifying the treaty insisting it was "alive and we should now try to find a solution".

Clear message

The British government says the Bill to ratify the treaty will continue its progression through Parliament - despite 53.4% of Irish voters rejecting it in the referendum vote, effectively preventing it from coming into force.

Conservative leader David Cameron said it would be the "height of arrogance" to continue to try to ratify it in the UK.

"People in Ireland have sent the clearest possible message that they do not want this treaty, they do not want this constitution and by all rights now it should be declared dead."

He said: "I think the elites in Brussels have got to listen to people in Europe who do not want endless powers being passed from nation states to Brussels."

And he added: "It is the height of arrogance for Gordon Brown and our government to press ahead with ratifying this treaty, flying in the face of public opinion."

Party splits

He said Mr Brown should come to the Commons on Monday to explain what he was going to do, and if the treaty was not dead - there should be a referendum on the treaty in the UK. Under Irish law, any amendment to an EU treaty requires an amendment to the Irish constitution and all constitutional amendments require approval by referendum.

The Conservatives have been demanding a similar, UK-wide referendum on the treaty, but the government said it was not needed and the House of Commons rejected one in March, despite splits in the Labour and Lib Dem ranks.

On Wednesday the House of Lords also rejected calls for a referendum - which paves the way for greater European integration, an EU presidency and the abolition of many national vetoes.

'Calm'

Former Europe Minister Denis MacShane conceded that the Lisbon Treaty "may well be dead" following the Irish vote.

But the Labour MP added: "I personally think that a vote in a foreign country should not determine the democratic decisions taken in the British Parliament."

He appealed for a "calm" way forward and said he hoped there would not now be an "unravelling" of the EU or that the enlargement of Europe would not be "put on hold".

UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage, who campaigns for Britain's exit from the EU, said the treaty had been "kicked it into the long grass".

And he reacted angrily to Mr Barroso's suggestion it was not dead, saying: "They will stop at nothing to achieve their goal of a European state".

"This reaction shows more than even the gaping chasm that exists between the people and the politicians. What part of 'no' don't they understand?"

But Ed Davey, Lib Dem international affairs spokesman, said it was a "disappointing" result because it was a "good treaty for Ireland and good for Europe".

But he said there "no easy solutions" for the treaty's supporters and the "Liberal Democrats would not support some sort of back door, smoke-filled room, deal to get this through".

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: "On 1 June Baroness Ashton made clear in the House of Lords that we will have the 3rd reading of the Bill to ratify the treaty on 18 June.

"It's the intention of this government to complete the legislation programme that it's begun on the Lisbon Treaty."

[Sub-X]

In Blow to E.U., Irish Voters Reject Treaty
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/14/world/europe/14ireland.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
June 14, 2008

LONDON — Europe was thrown into political chaos on Friday by Ireland’s rejection of the Lisbon Treaty, a painstakingly negotiated blueprint for consolidating the European Union’s power and streamlining its increasingly unwieldy bureaucracy.

The defeat of the treaty, by a margin of 53.4 percent to 46.6 percent, was the result of a highly organized “no” campaign that played to Irish voters’ deepest visceral fears about the European Union. For all its benefits, many people feel, the union is remote, undemocratic and ever more inclined to strip its smaller members of the right to make their own laws and decide their own futures.

The repercussions of Friday’s vote are enormous, for Ireland and for Europe. To take effect, the treaty must be ratified by all 27 members of the European Union. So the defeat by a single country, even one as tiny as Ireland, has the potential effect of stopping the whole thing cold.

Reacting with frustration to the vote on Friday, other European countries said they would try to press ahead for a plan to make the Lisbon Treaty work after all and would discuss the matter when their leaders meet for a summit in Brussels next week. But if they fail, the union will have to find some other way of adjusting institutionally to the addition of 12 new members since 2004, a rapid growth that the treaty was designed to address.

It will also have to come to terms with the unpleasant reality that as important as the union is to their daily lives, many ordinary Europeans still feel alienated from it and confused by how it works.

“Europe as an idea does not provoke passionate support among ordinary citizens,” said Denis MacShane, a Labor member of the British Parliament and a former minister for Europe.

“They see a bossy Brussels, and when they have the chance of a referendum in France, the Netherlands or Ireland to give their government and Europe a kick, they put the boot in,” he added in an interview, referring to France and the Netherlands’s defeat of a proposed European constitution in similar referendums three years ago.

The Lisbon Treaty, written after tortuous meetings between all the member states, is dense and complex. But if enacted, it would give Europe its first full-time president and create a new foreign-policy chief who, among other things, would control the development aid the union distributes.

The treaty would also reduce the number of members serving on the European Commission, rotating the seats so that each member country would have a seat on the commission 10 out of every 15 years. And it would change the voting procedures so that fewer decisions would require majority votes.

Ireland is the only European country putting the treaty to its voters in a referendum, as it is required by law to do; the other 26 countries are considering it through their legislatures and executives.

In Ireland, the failure of the referendum was a crushing blow to most of the Irish establishment, including the major political parties and most business groups, which had worked hard for a “yes” vote. But the “no” campaigners mobilized under the leadership of Declan Ganley, a businessman who argued that the treaty took power away from Ireland.

Mr. Ganley, who formed a group, Libertas, to campaign against the treaty, said that the vote would force the Irish prime minister, Brian Cowan, to renegotiate the treaty and secure a “better deal.”

“We want a Europe that is more democratic, and that if there is to be a president and a foreign affairs minister, they should be elected,” he said in an interview.

Libertas and other opponents of the treaty successfully capitalized on voters’ confusion, their disillusionment with the government and their feelings of alienation from the institutions of Europe, which is the source of some 85 percent of the new laws passed in Europe every year, said Michael Bruter, a senior lecturer in political science at the London School of Economics.

“It’s a pro-European country, but they didn’t understand the treaty — why it was needed, what it was going to change,” he said,speaking of the Irish voters. “They just don’t want to give Europe a blank check any more.”

Kick-started by Europe, which poured billions of dollars into Ireland beginning in the late 1980’s, Ireland was able to transform itself from an insular, impoverished agrarian society to a European powerhouse with an enticingly low corporate tax rate and some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical plants. But, having been the beneficiary of European money for years, Ireland now finds itself in the position of having to help finance the newer, and poorer, countries that have recently joined the union.

Ireland is the only country to reject the treaty. Eighteen countries have so far approved the treaty, and attention now focuses on what those that haven’t will do next.

One of these is Great Britain, where the treaty is still wending its way through Parliament and where officials said on Friday that they would continue the process of ratifying it. But there are deep strains of anti-European sentiment in Britain, and the treaty’s defeat in Ireland lends some momentum to the campaign against it there.

“This is a resounding victory on behalf of ordinary people across Europe over an out-of-touch and arrogant political elite,” said Neil O’Brien, the director of Open Europe, a British group that opposes the treaty and argues, with some justification, that it is merely an altered version of the failed 2005 constitution.

“If supporters of the E.U. constitution cannot even win in Ireland — one of the most pro-E.U. countries in Europe — it is clear that their vision for the future of Europe is now discredited in the most fundamental way,” Mr. O’Brien said in a statement.

Andrew Duff, a British member of the European Parliament and spokesman on constitutional issues for the Liberal Democratic Party, called the Irish vote a “tragedy” for Ireland and the European Union.

“The problems the treaty was established to address are still there,” he said in an interview. Referring to the 2001 Nice Treaty, an earlier effort to reorganize the way the union’s institutions function, he said: “If the outcome of this is that we are obliged to struggle on with the existing treaty, then the Irish have done no favors for themselves or us.”

[dogmadestroyer]

Damn Eurosexuals out for an EC lay. 

[Sub-X]

Damn Eurosexuals out for an EC lay. 

After today,I would say its going to be awhile 

[Sub-X]

Ireland votes 'No'
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=nw20080613185239543C777979
13 June 2008

"We have to accept the decision of the people and operate within it. But that's democracy and I accept that."

The Lisbon treaty was an effort to resurrect EU reforms that were torpedoed by French and Dutch voters in 2005.

This time all countries but Ireland have avoided a referendum. The "No" vote means a country with fewer than 1 percent of the EU's 490-million population could doom a treaty painstakingly negotiated by all 27 member states.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso urged the other 26 members to continue to work to ratify the treaty. Fourteen have already done so and another four are close.

The treaty envisages a long-term president of the European Council of EU leaders, a stronger foreign policy chief and a mutual defence pact.

But while Ireland ranks in surveys as one of the EU's most pro-European states, the treaty's opponents said it would reduce small countries' influence and undermine Ireland's jealously guarded historic neutrality.

Electoral returns showed opposition to the treaty concentrated in working class areas where people are suspicious of Brussels and of their country's political elite.

Turnout was a healthy 53 percent, eliminating any suggestion that voter apathy was to blame for the defeat of a measure supported by all three of Ireland's major political parties as well as farmers groups, businessmen and many labour unions.

The euro fell to its lowest level in over a month against the dollar after the first reports suggesting a "No" victory.

EU leaders meeting in Brussels next week will have awkward questions for Ireland's new Prime Minister Brian Cowen, making his European summit debut after taking over last month.

Lenihan said Ireland would have a hard time persuading other states to renegotiate the pact at such a late stage.

"We've already had seven years of negotiation and renegotiation," he said. "It's very difficult, having gone through plan A and plan B, to see where plan C lies."

Other European leaders expressed hope that Ireland would still find a way to sign up to the pact.

"Ireland will for sure find a way to ratify this treaty," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: "We are sticking with our goal for it to come into force. The ratification process must continue."

The British government, which faces a strong Euro-sceptic political opposition that has demanded its own referendum, has said plans to ratify the treaty would go on regardless.

French officials have said work on the treaty could continue. France assumes the rotating EU presidency in a matter of weeks and was supposed to be in charge of setting up the new system which would take effect at the start of the year.

But Mary Lou McDonald, a member of the EU parliament from Ireland's nationalist Sinn Fein party, which helped lead the victorious "No" campaign, said it would be impossible for Irish leaders to wriggle out of the referendum result.

"This is a moment of democratic truth here. Do you listen to the people or don't you?"

The treaty's failure, especially with robust turnout, was a surprise. On polling day bookmakers were still taking bets giving it overwhelming odds to pass.

It wasn't the first time Irish voters have shocked the EU. They almost wrecked the bloc's plans for eastward expansion in 2001 by rejecting the Nice treaty, but the government staged a second referendum in which that pact passed. The government has said it is not considering a re-run this time around.

[Sub-X]

Ireland rejects Lisbon Treaty,Results
http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0613/eulisbon.html
13 June 2008

Irish voters have rejected the Lisbon Treaty.

With results in from all 43 constituencies, the Lisbon Treaty has been defeated by a margin of 53.4% to 46.6%.

A total of 752,451 people voted in favour of the treaty and 862,415 voted against.

Just 10 constituencies - Clare, Dublin South, Dublin South East, Dublin North, Dublin North Central, Dún Laoghaire, Kildare North, Laois Offaly, Carlow Kilkenny and Meath East - voted in favour of the Treaty. 

Tánaiste Mary Coughlan, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny and former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern all failed to carry the vote in their own constituencies.

The result comes as a surprise to many in Europe, and was also a shock for political activists in Ireland.

Campaigners on both sides felt the Yes side had made up some ground in the last week - but that impression turned out to be wrong.

The margin of victory for the No side is similar to the first referendum on Nice - but on a much higher turnout.

In general, the picture is that working class and rural constituencies voted against, while middle class areas were in favour.

Just ten of the 43 constituencies voted in favour - compared to only two that were on the Yes side in Nice 1.

In regional terms, the result was closest in Dublin, where the No side won by 51% to 49%.

But the capital also had the widest margins. It had the constituency with the highest No vote (Dublin South West at just over 65%) and the constituency with the highest Yes vote (Dun Laoghaire with 63.5%).

The region with the highest No vote was Connacht/Ulster, where the No vote led by 57%.

Waterford was the first constituency to declare an official result - and it was unequivocal, rejecting Lisbon by 54-46.

This morning's tallies showed the strength of the No vote across the country, with just a handful of constituencies looking like they would vote Yes.

Each constituency counted its own votes separately, before sending the result to the Referendum Returning Officer in Dublin Castle, who announced the overall result.

[Sub-X]

The Final Result

[tehowe]

It would have taken effect on 1/1/09

Just saying.

[Sub-X]

Taoiseach Brian Cowen press conference after Lisbon defeat

[Sub-X]

Irish people say no to EU power grab
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/87974
June 13, 2008

Republican Sinn Fein Vice President Des Dalton says the no vote is a rejection of an EU superstate.

The Irish people have clearly and unequivocally said no to a power grab by the EU political elite by their rejection of the Lisbon Treaty/EU Constitution. The clear message given by the Irish people is that they reject the construction of an undemocratic EU superstate. The people have spoken and must not be ignored unlike the first Nice referendum in the 26 Counties or the French and Dutch referenda in 2005 which rejected the EU Constitution – the Lisbon Treaty and the EU Constitution are 96% the same document.

A clear marker has been laid down to the Dublin and Brussels political establishments. The Irish people are not prepared to give over more power to an institution which they do not elect and which is not accountable to them. Three times in three years the people of three states have now said no to a militarised and unaccountable EU superstate.

What also emerges from the referendum result is that a gulf has grown between the Dublin political establishment and the mass of the people. The line taken by the main 26-County political parties throughout the referendum campaign was that people need not understand the Lisbon Treaty or its implications but merely trust them in recommending its acceptance. The resounding rejection of Lisbon shows the people do not trust them.

[Sub-X]

Irish PM fails to rule out second Lisbon referendum
http://euobserver.com/9/26327
13 June 2008

EUOBSERVER / DUBLIN - Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen has said that his country's referendum on the Lisbon Treaty result must be respected, but was unclear on whether to rule out a second referendum on the document.

"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 people," he told reporters in a first public statement just minutes after the final results were announced giving the No side an emphatic victory.

In a resounding defeat for the treaty, only ten out of 43 Irish constituencies voted in favour of the Lisbon Treaty.

A majority of Irish people - 53.4 percent - voted against the EU's Lisbon treaty in Thursday's referendum, while 46.6 percent voted in favour, according to final results released Friday (13 June). Participation was at 53.13 percent.

"Once again in Europe, a treaty supported by the leaders of all member states has been unable to secure popular support in a ballot", the prime minister said.

"We must not rush to conclusions. The Union has been in this situation before, and each time has found an agreed way forward. I hope that we can do so again on this occasion."

"I wish to make it clear to our European partners that Ireland has absolutely no wish to halt the progress of the Union."

"We still share the goal of a union fit for purpose in this century," he continued.

"We will take the time to explain this to our partners in Europe and the wider international community."

Mr Cowen also said that the result brings about "considerable uncertainty."

"There is no quick fix."

He could not hide his anger at the No side, calling it an "orchestrated campaign of confusion".

Asked by reporters what the result meant for the ratification of the treaty, the prime minister responded: "It's a matter for the national processes in all member states."

He added: "The question of a second referendum doesn't arise."

However, shortly after, in an interview on Irish public television station RTE, asked by the presenter what he felt about comments from other European leaders saying that ratification should continue, he said: "It's a matter for those governments to proceed as they wish.

Pressed whether he could rule out a "Lisbon Mark II", the Irish leader replied: "I'm not prepared to surmise on that.

"I'm not ruling anything in or out or up or down."

Labour: 'Lisbon is dead'

His Yes coalition ally, Labour leader Eamon Gilmore, however disagreed with Mr Cowen that it should be "full-steam ahead".

"The Lisbon Treaty is dead," he said in a separate RTE interview. "Ireland cannot ratify it – therefore Lisbon falls."

"This has to be recognised by everybody – by the Taoiseach [the Irish prime minister], by other member states."

"This proposal is now gone."

Other Irish politicians were scornful of the idea of continued ratification. European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso earlier in the afternoon had said the remaining ratifications "should continue to take their course."

Patricia McKenna, a former Irish Green MEP and leading No side campaigner reacted angrily to the suggestion: "It is completely unacceptable that anyone in Europe should continue with ratification.

"It shows complete contempt for the voice of the people. They simply fail to understand why people are voting No."

"It's time for the EU bureaucrats and senior politicians to come to grips with the fact that they cannot forge ahead without the consent of the people."

Ms McKenna wants her government to now tell other European leaders they must stop the process.

If European leaders carry on regardless, she warned that demonstrations would be organised across Europe.

A great day for Irish democracy

Mary Lou McDonald, a Sinn Fein MEP and the face of her party's No campaign, objected to French European affairs minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet's mid-afternoon suggestion that ratification continue and that some "legal arrangement" could be cobbled together.

Speaking to the EUobserver, Ms McDonald said: "I would remind the minister that the social issues raised by voters in the Irish referendum were essentially the same as those raised by voters in the French and Dutch referendums [in 2005 on the constitutional treaty]."

"And obviously the treaty requires the consent of every member state to come into effect."

Declan Ganley, the millionaire businessman and founder of Libertas, the centre-right anti-Treaty group campaigning around tax harmonisation issues and against European 'red tape', called the vote: "A great day for the Irish people and a great day for Irish democracy."

"We are bringing democracy into the heart of the European Union," he added, speaking to reporters in the courtyard of Dublin Castle, where the central vote count was held.

Mr Ganley also warned against moves to push forward with the same text.

"[European Union leaders] need to listen to the voices of the people. The people of France and Holland have already spoken and now the Irish are making their voice heard."

Loo-las

Outside the black cast-iron gates of Dublin castle, a few dozen people had gathered awaiting the results. Already black and white posters had appeared on railings and sign posts down the street telling European leaders and the Irish government to respect the result, with "No means No" in large letters.

At the gates, Alan Keogh was sceptical that the No vote was really the end.

"There'll be another re-run. Or they'll throw something similar back at us."

He was pleased with the result nontheless. At the beginning of the campaign, said the twenty-something Mr Keogh, then Prime Minister Bertie Ahern had called people that would vote No "a whole lot of loo-las".

He then unfurled an Irish flag on which he had written in black felt pen: "Who's the loo-la now, Bertie?"

But he also did not want the rest of the EU to feel rejected: "Tell Europe we still love them - just not in that way."

Next week Irish foreign affairs minister Micheál Martin is to meet with fellow European foreign ministers and explain the referendum results to his colleagues. The prime minister will do likewise at the next EU summit of heads of state and government at the end of the week.

[Sub-X]

EU in limbo, blame game for yes camp as Ireland says no
Irish Examiner
14 June 2008

BRIAN Cowen last night admitted he did not know what would happen next after voters plunged the EU into chaos with a resounding no to the Lisbon treaty.

The Taoiseach was caught by surprise as a higher than expected turnout saw the electorate bury Lisbon by a majority of 110,000.

The result sent shockwaves through European capitals.

Luxembourg premier Jean-Claude Juncker declared it had provoked a “crisis” within the EU. Money markets also reacted badly as the euro tumbled.

Mr Cowen said the result pushed Europe into “uncertainty and unchartered waters” and he would need to discuss where the EU went next at a heads of government meeting on Thursday. “I don’t have an answer to the question what happens next,” Mr Cowen said. However, he refused to rule out a Lisbon 2-style poll in the future.

Chairman of no vote campaigners Libertas Declan Ganley insisted Mr Cowen now had a strong mandate to go to Europe and gain a better deal for Ireland. “This is a great day for Irish democracy, Europe needs to listen to the voice of the people,” he said.

The Lisbon treaty was defeated by a margin of 53.4% to 46.6% with 752,451 people voting in favour and 862,415 against on a turn-out of 53.1%.

But while Irish voters rejected Lisbon, the very clear message from other EU member states was that the treaty was not dead yet.

Following phone-calls between Brian Cowen and several European leaders, including Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso, German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Nicolas Sarkozy, it was agreed that ratification of the treaty should continue in other member states.

“Mr Cowen also believes the treaty is not dead — the treaty is alive and we should find a solution,” Mr Barroso told a press conference in Brussels as the results came in. “Ireland is in a minority and other countries must be allowed to express their opinion and at the end we will have a full and clear picture of everyone’s position. Our Irish friends recognise this full well and recognise that this is the best way of proceeding.”

Legally if one member state fails to ratify a treaty, then it falls. However, early indications from other EU capitals are that they will try hard to retain Lisbon. A second referendum in Ireland could be a possibility in such circumstances.

Meanwhile, the blame game among the yes campaign has begun with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael accusing each other of not doing enough to secure support for Lisbon.

Fine Gael said the financial controversies of former taoiseach Bertie Ahern and the subsequent change of party leadership distracted the government from campaigning.

Enda Kenny, leader of Fine Gael, said he did not want to get involved in recrimination and said he would not be calling for a general election. But he said: “I did make the point on a number of occasions that the vacuum that was opening up could certainly lead to misinformation being out there and that is what happened.”

But Fianna Fáil rejected suggestions that it was late starting its campaign.

There was jubilation among the no campaign, however, with Sinn Féin asserting that Lisbon was now “dead” and the Government had to negotiate a better deal.

SF president Gerry Adams hailed the victory of no campaigners in what he termed a “David and Goliath contest”.

“The Lisbon Treaty is finished, there now needs to be a better treaty, the people have said it wasn’t good enough.”

Just 10 of the 43 constituencies — Clare, Dublin South, Dublin South East, Dublin North, Dublin North Central, Dún Laoghaire, Kildare North, Laois Offaly, Carlow Kilkenny and Meath East — voted in favour of the treaty.

Dublin saw the closest result as the no side won by a knife-edge 51% to 49%.

The capital also contained the constituency with the highest no vote (Dublin South West at just over 65%) and highest yes vote (Dún Laoghaire with 63.5%). The region with the biggest no vote was Connacht/Ulster, at 57%.

[White Rose Sophie]

The Final Result

        YES!!!!!

And yes, I hope you will revisit the Jesus is GOD thread.....Cos I spent a WHOLE lotta time talking to him....(actually more like begging) for this result.   

I am so proud of the fighting Irish.  My mum even gave me an Irish name, so it must be destiny. ......LOL. 

You singing yet?   

[Sub-X]

        YES!!!!!

And yes, I hope you will revisit the Jesus is GOD thread.....Cos I spent a WHOLE lotta time talking to him....(actually more like begging) for this result.   

I am so proud of the fighting Irish.  My mum even gave me an Irish name, so it must be destiny. ......LOL. 

You singing yet?   

There was a song or 3 alright 

Your thoughts,prayers,positive energy are well appreciated,and I thank you and all the people that shared that moment for the good of the people of Europe.

For anybody that has doubts,this is proof,"THE INFO WAR WORKS" 

[White Rose Sophie]

There was a song or 3 alright 

Your thoughts,prayers,positive energy are well appreciated,and I thank you and all the people that shared that moment for the good of the people of Europe.

For anybody that has doubts,this is proof,"THE INFO WAR WORKS" 

Yes, the infowar does work.  (along with other things....   )

And having lived in Europe for several years, I must do whatever I can to help THEM in their struggle against tyranny too.  I may not be there to march or hand out flyers, but I can email and do....the 'other stuff'.   

And kudos to you my friend, for without this thread I would probably have just been oblivious - thinking it was just a "European" thing, when it's actually a 'human freedom' thing.

"Well done, good and faithful servant." And I mean that in a 'serving the cause of freedom' way.   

[Sub-X]

Yes, the infowar does work.  (along with other things....   )

Ohhhhhhhhhhh you are a crafty one , I am so glad you are on our side   

[Sub-X]

EU referendum: Gordon Brown urged to kill off Lisbon Treaty after 'no' vote in Ireland
London Telegraph
14/06/2008

Gordon Brown is under intense pressure to declare the Lisbon Treaty dead after Irish voters delivered an overwhelming vote against the European Union's drive toward greater integration.

In the only popular vote on the treaty to be held in the EU, 53.4 per cent of the Irish electorate rejected its terms – plunging the EU's plans to create a new European president and foreign minister into turmoil.

MPs and campaigners from across the political spectrum called on the Prime Minister to halt moves towards British ratification of the text in the wake of the vote, with David Cameron saying the treaty should now be "declared dead".

The agreement, which would sweep away dozens of national vetoes, must be ratified by all 27 European Union members before it can take force next year.

Opponents said the emphatic Irish result meant the project – described as an attempt to revive the defunct EU constitution – should be completely abandoned.

Mr Brown however, is preparing to defy British public opinion by pushing ahead with the treaty's ratification in parliament. Government legislation ratifying the text is due to get its third and final reading in the House of Lords on Wednesday.

David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, said: "It is right that we follow the view that each country must follow the ratification process to its conclusion. It is right that we continue with our own process."

Mr Cameron described the Government's plans as the "height of arrogance" and accused the Government of "flying in the face of public opinion."

He said that Mr Brown should go to the commons on Monday to explain what would happen now.

"If this is not dead,we must be able to have the referendum in this country so that we have the chance to pass judgment on this treaty and put the final nail in its coffin,"he said.

Ministers privately concede that abandoning the ratification, Britain would seal the fate of the treaty.

Mr Brown is said to believe that doing so would reduce Britain's influence and split the EU, with countries like France and Germany press ahead with their own integration plans.

However, his determination to push ahead with the treaty puts him at odds with British voters, with opinion polls showing that most reject the document.

A Daily Telegraph campaign seeking a UK referendum on the text last year gathered well over 100,000 signatories.

William Hague, the Conservative shadow foreign secretary, insisted that the British parliamentary ratification process must be stopped immediately.

"The Irish people have spoken and they have made clear that they do not want a Treaty that takes so many powers from the countries of Europe and gives it to distant institutions in Brussels," he said.

"Despite all the threats that have been made they have had the courage to make their own decision. They deserve Europe's admiration and congratulations.

The call was echoed by Labour MPs. Frank Field, a leading Labour opponent of the treaty, said the British process should stop at once.

He said: "The result speaks volumes. The people in the one country given a chance to vote have clearly rejected the Treaty. The Government must now withdraw its Bill ratifying the Treaty which should now be dead'.

Ian Davidson, another Labour opponent of the document said: "It is enormously significant that the only people who have had the chance to vote on the treaty have rejected it by a substantial margin. Now is the time for a period of reflection."

However, European leaders were making plans to find a legal way around the Irish 'No' vote.

Nicholas Sarkozy, the French President, was working with EU leaders and diplomats to plan a special "legal arrangement" to bypass the referendum rejection.

In a joint statement with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the French leader insisted the treaty was "necessary" for the EU and would go ahead.

Mr Sarkozy assumes the rotating presidency of the EU next month, and at a summit in Brussels next week he and Mr Brown will insist that the ratification process continues unchanged.

British sources said that the summit is likely to conclude that the Irish vote is a problem for the Irish government, not the rest of the EU.

"The Irish government will have to go away and think about how to proceed, but the rest of us will keep going," said a Foreign Office source.

Jose Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, insisted that treaty would not be stopped.

"The treaty is alive," Mr Barroso said in Brussels. "The remaining ratifications should continue to take their course."

Every major political party in Ireland had backed a Yes vote, with opposition being led by Libertas, a small, privately-funded campaign group.

Declan Ganley, head of Libertas, said the vote should kill the Lisbon Treaty.

"The No result is the final answer on this particular Treaty That's democracy. That's how it works," he said.

Even the pro-European Liberal Democrats said the Irish result should halt Britain's move to approve the treaty.

Edward Davey, the party's foreign affairs spokesman said: "Once scrutiny of the treaty is completed in Westminster next week its ratification should be suspended."

Bill Cash, the veteran Tory eurosceptic, said: "Gordon Brown must now abandon the British moves to ratify the Treaty and renegotiate the treaties of the European Union. The Conservative party must seize the opportunity to decimate the government's European police and restore democracy to the UK."

Officials in London, Dublin and Brussels were at a loss to explain how Ireland's approval for the Lisbon Treaty can be secured following the result.

In 2001, the Irish rejected the EU's Nice Treaty, but were ultimately pressured into endorsing it in a second referendum after some sections of that text were re-written to address concerns about Ireland's military neutrality.

Privately, some diplomats fear that it will be impossible to address the Irish grievances against Lisbon, which are much wider than the objections raised to the Nice Treaty.

One senior British official said: "With the Nice vote, you could identify specific problems the Irish had with the text, answer them and then move on. But this is less focused, more a general rejection of the whole project, and accommodating it within the process could be very, very difficult."

Brian Cowan, the Irish Prime Minister, appeared to rule out a second Irish referendum to ratify the treaty, insisting that the issue of another vote "didn't arise".

He said: "The result does bring about considerable uncertainty and a difficult situation. There is no quick fix."

[Sub-X]

Sarkozy wants no disruption to ratification
http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0614/eulisbon.html
14 June 2008

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said that EU member states must continue ratifying the Lisbon Treaty to avoid a crisis after Ireland rejected the text.

Mr Sarkozy said Ireland's rejection of the Treaty created 'an additional difficulty', but stressed that ratification must continue.

Advertisement'The others must continue ratification... so that the Irish incident does not become a crisis,' Mr Sarkozy said at a joint news conference with US President George W Bush.

'Many Europeans do not understand the way in which we are now building Europe,' he said. 'We have to take this into account, very quickly, and change our way of building Europe.'

'We do not have the right to sabotage the European project, but we must do it differently,' he asserted.

He added that the result will not simplify the task of the French presidency, which begins on 1 July.

Today, Mr Sarkozy listed immigration and high fuel prices as priorities of the French presidency, and said the Irish No was a 'call to do more, better, differently' for Europe.

The Treaty, aimed at reforming the European Union, was defeated on Thursday by a margin of 110,000 votes.

The Minister of State with responsibility for Integration, Conor Lenihan, earlier said it is unlikely that the Lisbon Treaty will be put to a referendum in Ireland again.

However, he said could not rule out the possibility.

Last night, the Taoiseach said the Government accepts and respects the verdict of the Irish people, but he declined to absolutely rule out another referendum on the Treaty.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio's Morning Ireland this morning, Minister Lenihan said the risk of putting the Treaty to the Irish people for a second time could create even more damage.

Later, speaking to Eamon Dunphy, Libertas leader Declan Ganley, who campaigned for a No vote, said he was horrified that the possibility of another referendum was even being raised.

Yesterday, President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, issued a similar call. He insisted that the Treaty was still 'alive' and urged all countries to continue the ratification process. 18 member states have already done so.

Slovenia, which currently holds the six-month rotating EU presidency, said the Treaty remained a key building block to make Europe 'more efficient, more democratic and transparent'.

But it said Ireland had 'put the brakes on' EU development and warned the bloc's competitiveness was at risk.

Victorious No campaigners have urged Mr Cowen to go back to the drawing board to negotiate a better deal. The Taoiseach will be meeting his colleagues at a European summit in Brussels next week.

What to do next is likely to dominate that meeting.

[Sub-X]

Cowen facing EU nightmare
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/lisbon-treaty/cowen-facing-eu-nightmare-1409650.html
June 14 2008

TAOISEACH Brian Cowen faces a political and economic nightmare -- at home and abroad -- after voters resoundingly rejected the Lisbon Treaty.

The defeat of the treaty, by a majority of almost 110,000, creates a major political headache across the European Union.

Just a month after becoming Taoiseach, Mr Cowen failed his first test as leader of the country, with the 'No' camp winning by 53pc to 47pc -- and a European treaty being defeated here for the second time.

Mr Cowen goes to Brussels next week to explain the way ahead following the most embarrassing result in Ireland's history in the European Union.

At his first European Council meeting as Taoiseach, Mr Cowen faces a frosty reception from his EU counterparts.

The treaty must be ratified by all 27 EU member states in order to come into effect.

Mr Cowen now accepts the Government is entering "uncharted waters" as he attempts to rebuild bridges with fellow EU leaders and find a solution to the Lisbon dilemma.

"I don't have the answer to the question: what happens next?" he said.

"I am going to have to reflect on what it is that's happened in the last 24 hours."

Although he said he respected the outcome, Mr Cowen did not rule out putting the treaty to the people again in a referendum, along the same lines as Nice 2.

"I am simply not ruling anything in or out or up or down," he said.

But Fine Gael and the Labour Party both cast doubt on the prospects of any second referendum being held after the comprehensive result.

Mr Cowen said he accepted responsibility for the result and he believed people had voted 'No' for a myriad of reasons, although some of the matters were extraneous to the treaty.

"I have not succeeded in this case in winning over a majority of people," he said.

Confounding the belief that a high voter turnout would be enough to carry the referendum, the turnout came in at a respectable 53pc -- yet still the 'No' vote triumphed.

The 'Yes' vote only came out on top in 10 constituencies, compared to 33 where there was a 'No'.

After the result became known, Mr Cowen revealed he had spoken about the outcome with EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, French President Nicholas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Luxembourg Premier Jean Claude Juncker.

European leaders want to continue to ratify the Lisbon Treaty in the rest of the European Union, despite the 'No' vote in Ireland. Mr Barroso insisted the treaty was not dead.

Problems

"The 'No' vote in Ireland has not solved the problems which the Lisbon Treaty is designed to solve," he said.

On the economic front, there are fears there will be repercussions for Finance Minister Brian Lenihan if the downturn in public finances means he has to exceed borrowing limits.

There are concerns in financial circles that the Government will get a rough ride from the European Commission and other euro countries if, as expected, the borrowing limit of 3pc, or about €8bn, is exceeded this year or next.

Rather than being given wriggle room, Mr Lenihan could be told to make up the gap through lower spending.

As the blame game among the 'Yes' campaign started, the finger was firmly pointed at Mr Cowen and Fianna Fail for starting the campaign too late.

Former Fine Gael leader Michael Noonan accused Mr Cowen of going on a lap of honour following his election instead of focusing on the referendum campaign.

However, Fianna Fail sources pointed out that Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny failed to carry the vote in his own county of Mayo, despite having three TDs and an MEP in the county.

Meanwhile, 'No' campaign chief Declan Ganley did not rule out running in next year's European elections after his Libertas group proved instrumental in defeating the treaty.

The possibility of Libertas becoming a political party was also not ruled out.

[Sub-X]

Result is rejection of the 'militarisation of Europe'
Irish Independent
14 June 2008

SOCIALISTS, peace campaigners and Catholic groups were celebrating last night after their "mixed bag" coalition helped to defeat the Lisbon Treaty.

Although some of their arguments had been criticised as "scaremongering" by the 'Yes' camp, there was general acceptance that the issues raised about tax, neutrality and public services had contributed to the public unease about the treaty.

Socialist Party leader Joe Higgins said that while there had been different aspects to the 'No' campaign, people opposed the idea of an EU being run by a "round table of industrialists".

"The internationalisation of the armaments industry is a big issue with the Irish people and it is quite clear that the exploitation of workers was as well," he said.

After giving interviews to journalists in Dublin Castle in English, Irish and French, he condemned the Labour party for supporting the treaty as "part of the camp of the capitalist market" and also attacked the pro-treaty trade unions.

Enamoured

"The trade union leadership have got far too enamoured of doing deals with Government and the bosses for 21 years behind closed doors. They should come out and listen to what their membership is saying for a change now," he said.

The result was also a boost for Coir, a rightwing group which produced eye-catching posters featuring three monkeys and slogans such as "Don't give away your freedom".

"The key to the success of our campaign was that we got out the troops as early as six months ago and we had 2,000 volunteers in 43 constituencies," its spokesman Richard Green said.

Long-term neutrality campaigner Roger Cole said that one of the key reasons for the 'No' vote was the Irish opposition to a militarised Europe. His Peace and Neutrality Alliance group considered it to be a victory for the European peace movement as a whole.

People before Profit Alliance member Richard Boyd Barrett, who narrowly missed out on a Dail seat last year, was another who campaigned strongly against the treaty. Although there was a 'Yes' majority in his Dun Laoghaire constituency, it will increase his profile.

Munster-based Independent Kathy Sinnott, who mounted a nationwide poster campaign against the treaty, said the 'No' vote was a positive mandate for change in the EU.

[Sub-X]

Ireland Shows the Way
http://www.counterpunch.org/browne06132008.html
June 13-15, 2008

Irish Class War Delivers No Vote to EU

In the midst of a growing economic crisis, Ireland’s urban working class and struggling rural people have united to deliver a blow to Europe’s ruling elite.

The defeat of the Lisbon Treaty in yesterday’s Irish referendum has tossed out years of efforts by the European Union to come up with new, “streamlined” procedures, and to get the increasingly unitary EU an (unelected) president and foreign minister.

The Treaty was itself a modest rewrite of the European Constitution, rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005.

As the counts came in from around the country today, the Irish people’s decision was, in the end, not even close. The momentum for a No vote displayed in last week’s opinion polls continued right through polling day. With a turnout bigger than in any previous Irish Euro-referendum, the electorate smashed expectations that a big vote would boost the Yes side and defied the advice of 95% of the country’s elected politicians, who supported the Treaty.

The politically disparate No campaign had rained blows from left and right, defending workers’ rights and defending low corporation tax, against privatization and against abortion; the Yes side could scarcely defend itself, let alone fight back.

Former Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte today compared the plight of the Yes campaigner to playing a video game: “You pop the bad guy, two more pop up.”

The various No elements avoided arguing among themselves during the campaign, but the battle to claim the victory has now begun. All analysts agree, however, that as in the 2001 Nice Treaty referendum, Irish people’s concern about military neutrality and the growing militarization of the EU was crucial.

Many of the issues and energies in the Lisbon campaign have been addressed already in CounterPunch. The X factor in this result was the effect of the prevailing economic catastrophism: would voters take the conservative option of voting Yes to avoid the danger of deepening the crisis with political uncertainty? In the end it was the most at-risk sections of the population who delivered the most decisive No.

The problem for the Treaty was that it was all too easy for voters to connect Ireland’s present economic woes to its role in Europe. As unemployment leaps, it calls attention to all the east-European immigrants working here; as previously astronomic house prices collapse, the president of the European Central Bank announces a coming rise in interest rates; as farmers worry about their futures, the EU negotiates at the WTO to allow more South American beef into European markets; as fishermen despairing of high fuel prices stage protest blockades at key ports, they complain about EU-imposed fishing quotas that force them to dump tons of their catches. 

A No vote does nothing to address any of these issues; indeed few of them even figured prominently in the campaign. But voting No was the means at hand to complain about them.

Much of the media credit for the No win is being given to conservative businessman Declan Ganley and his new Libertas organization, with its respectably neoliberal campaign focusing on taxation and voting weights in EU institutions. But the results so far indicate that better-off Irish voters, from the fat farming regions of the south midlands and the prosperous suburbs of south Dublin, stuck with their traditional Europhilia. The Yes side won solid victories in well-off areas and a near-draw in prosperous rural regions. The No victory came with unprecedented turnouts in poorer areas of Dublin, Cork, Limerick and other cities, and with large No margins in more marginal rural areas in the west of the island and around the Border with Northern Ireland. Fishing communities delivered an overwhelming No. Former prime minister Garret FitzGerald has described the result as the most class-divided in Irish history.

There is, without doubt, some space for the Left in Ireland and across Europe to exploit this huge victory in a tiny country against the European Union’s neoliberal elite, especially if EU leaders try to drive through yet another version of Lisbon. But the reasons that an uneasy Ireland voted No are not simple, and the complex and contradictory story here gives that elite the chance to shrug off the result and just live with the institutional status quo ante.

Is Europe a regulatory threat to business? A military threat to peace? A liberal threat to traditional morality? A driver of climate-change enlightenment? A hungry vulture in third-world markets? A counterweight to US power? Take your pick: unlike the US, the definition of institutional Europe is up for grabs, internally and globally.

I was speaking last night to a prominent left-wing politician and No campaigner. He spoke of hearing a No voter give her reasons: “If the Lisbon Treaty goes through, Europe will bring in abortion, gay marriage, legal prostitution, euthanasia…” The campaigner was glad to have another No vote, but conceded: “If I believed that myself, I would have voted Yes.”

Harry Browne lectures in Dublin Institute of Technology. His book, ‘Hammered by the Irish: How the Pitstop Ploughshares disabled a US war-plane – with Ireland’s blessing’, is forthcoming from Counterpunch Books.

[Femacamper]

WOOT!

Ireland...the land of ire, where the NWO starts losing...

Online Etymology Dictionary - ire
c.1300, from O.Fr. ire (11c.), from L. ira "anger, wrath, rage," from PIE base *eis-, forming various words denoting "passion" cf. Gk. hieros "filled with the divine, holy," oistros "gadfly," originally "thing causing madness;" Skt. esati "drives on," yasati "boils;" Avestan aesma "anger").

Ireland, you are the passion, you are the divine anger of God against the New World Order!

I think WeAreChangeIreland may have just turned the tide on the battle in the Infowar.

We can say this was the day that we began to win.

Resistance is VICTORY!!!

[KiwiClare]

Beautifully put Femacamper! 

EU treaty 'dead' after Irish voters reject it in referendum victory for 'no' campaign
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1026159/EU-treaty-dead-Irish-voters-reject-referendum-victory-campaign.html

[Sub-X]

WOOT!

Ireland...the land of ire, where the NWO starts losing...

Online Etymology Dictionary - ire
c.1300, from O.Fr. ire (11c.), from L. ira "anger, wrath, rage," from PIE base *eis-, forming various words denoting "passion" cf. Gk. hieros "filled with the divine, holy," oistros "gadfly," originally "thing causing madness;" Skt. esati "drives on," yasati "boils;" Avestan aesma "anger").

Ireland, you are the passion, you are the divine anger of God against the New World Order!

I think WeAreChangeIreland may have just turned the tide on the battle in the Infowar.

We can say this was the day that we began to win.

Resistance is VICTORY!!!

Beautifully put indeed Fema 

This week has just be so great,we vote down the Lisbon Treaty here,Dennis Kucinich,the judge that ruled in favour of habeas corpus for the prisoners at Gitmo. and David Davis MP resigning,yes this has been an extra special week 

[White Rose Sophie]

WOOT!

Ireland...the land of ire, where the NWO starts losing...

Online Etymology Dictionary - ire
c.1300, from O.Fr. ire (11c.), from L. ira "anger, wrath, rage," from PIE base *eis-, forming various words denoting "passion" cf. Gk. hieros "filled with the divine, holy," oistros "gadfly," originally "thing causing madness;" Skt. esati "drives on," yasati "boils;" Avestan aesma "anger").

Ireland, you are the passion, you are the divine anger of God against the New World Order!

I think WeAreChangeIreland may have just turned the tide on the battle in the Infowar.

We can say this was the day that we began to win.

Resistance is VICTORY!!!

Yes, lets not forget to give credit where it's due, eh Fema?   

[iks83]

Might be a bit late but I just found a english subbed lecture from march 2007 by Prof. Schachtschneider from the University of Erlangen, expert in public and state law. Could be interesting for some.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_kB6ejDlq8