The Treaty of Lisbon was supposed to replaced the EU Constitution signed in 2004 but rejected by the French and the Dutch in a similar referendum. The ratification of the new Treaty was already well under way, with 18 national parliaments having already ratified it - including France and Germany.
Negotiations took years to be sure that the new treaty had nothing in it to displease any member state. We still remember vividly how Poland try to blackmail other EU members last June at the summit where EU heads of states gave their green light to the EU Reform Treaty (aka Lisbon Treaty).
Eventually, even Poland's radical right-wing president, Lech Kaczynski, understood that it was not in Poland's best interest to veto the treaty, as it would have meant a condemnation and probably retaliations from all Europe (e.g. German companies threatened to shift investments to other countries).
The EU Reform Treaty is of vital importance for the EU (and each of its member state). Its aim is to reform the way the EU institutions function. The present system was designed to accommodate the 6 original members, and was working well with up to 15 members, but had become seriously unwieldly and costly with 27 members. The main purpose of the Lisbon Treaty was to simplify things for the sake of efficiency, both in terms of cost and decision-making.
No-voters could only be people who would want to sabotage the very functioning of the EU and want EU citizens to pay more taxes than they should to support the excess bureaucracy (I mean, why else would they, in all conscience, vote no otherwise ?).
Another aim of the Treaty was to have a EU president and an EU Foreign Minister elected each for two and a half years. This, among others, would have significantly strengthened Europe's voice in world affairs.
It wouldn't be surprising if some anti-European Americans had a role in the "vote no" campaign in Ireland, as all the Irish political parties asked to vote "yes", except the Sinn Fein, the political arm of the IRA terrorist group.
It is a very sad day for Europe indeed. How could the Irish have been so easily manipulated by terrorists in voting for their own doom ? What kind of suicidal behaviour is that ?
In Poland, the Kaczynski brothers lost massively in the elections following their stunt that scared all Europe. In this case, ousting a few politicians won't help, as the main political parties supported the treaty. It is (half of) the country's population itself that was thickheaded (reminds me of some other votes where half of a country's population acted in a asinine manner, electing a certain G.W. Bush).
If a majority of Irish feel that they do not need Europe, then they should leave it. It's too bad that they did not realise that their country only became so prosperous since it joined the EU in 1973. Before that, Ireland was one of Europe's poorest countries, a nation of impoverished farmers that sent wave after wave of emigrants to North America and Australia. It now has the second highest GDP per capita in the EU.
Needless to say that if Ireland leaves the EU, foreign investors will have to move their offices to a country that actually belongs to the common market. It's not like Ireland has enough natural resources or major companies of its own to act all cocky and bite the hand that feeds it.
Negotiations took years to be sure that the new treaty had nothing in it to displease any member state. We still remember vividly how Poland try to blackmail other EU members last June at the summit where EU heads of states gave their green light to the EU Reform Treaty (aka Lisbon Treaty).
Eventually, even Poland's radical right-wing president, Lech Kaczynski, understood that it was not in Poland's best interest to veto the treaty, as it would have meant a condemnation and probably retaliations from all Europe (e.g. German companies threatened to shift investments to other countries).
The EU Reform Treaty is of vital importance for the EU (and each of its member state). Its aim is to reform the way the EU institutions function. The present system was designed to accommodate the 6 original members, and was working well with up to 15 members, but had become seriously unwieldly and costly with 27 members. The main purpose of the Lisbon Treaty was to simplify things for the sake of efficiency, both in terms of cost and decision-making.
No-voters could only be people who would want to sabotage the very functioning of the EU and want EU citizens to pay more taxes than they should to support the excess bureaucracy (I mean, why else would they, in all conscience, vote no otherwise ?).
Another aim of the Treaty was to have a EU president and an EU Foreign Minister elected each for two and a half years. This, among others, would have significantly strengthened Europe's voice in world affairs.
It wouldn't be surprising if some anti-European Americans had a role in the "vote no" campaign in Ireland, as all the Irish political parties asked to vote "yes", except the Sinn Fein, the political arm of the IRA terrorist group.
It is a very sad day for Europe indeed. How could the Irish have been so easily manipulated by terrorists in voting for their own doom ? What kind of suicidal behaviour is that ?
In Poland, the Kaczynski brothers lost massively in the elections following their stunt that scared all Europe. In this case, ousting a few politicians won't help, as the main political parties supported the treaty. It is (half of) the country's population itself that was thickheaded (reminds me of some other votes where half of a country's population acted in a asinine manner, electing a certain G.W. Bush).
If a majority of Irish feel that they do not need Europe, then they should leave it. It's too bad that they did not realise that their country only became so prosperous since it joined the EU in 1973. Before that, Ireland was one of Europe's poorest countries, a nation of impoverished farmers that sent wave after wave of emigrants to North America and Australia. It now has the second highest GDP per capita in the EU.
Needless to say that if Ireland leaves the EU, foreign investors will have to move their offices to a country that actually belongs to the common market. It's not like Ireland has enough natural resources or major companies of its own to act all cocky and bite the hand that feeds it.
Last edited: