Ireland: Lisbon Treaty Second Referendum Date Set

The Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen has set October 2 as the date for the country's second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, reports RTE.

Irish voters rejected the Treaty in the first referendum last June, 53.4% to 46.6%.

RTE reports that the first election was marked by debates over issues which were not included in the Treaty text.

The Irish Independent reports that Mr Cowen said that legal guarantees had been given for Ireland on issues which concerned voters ahead of the first referendum, such as abortion, military neutrality, taxation, and the retention of a European Commissioner per EU member.

According to the Irish Times, the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs today published a guide to the treaty and said it was in the interests of both Ireland and Europe to vote 'yes'.

Critics of the government's decision to hold a second referendum on the Treaty have questioned the legality of the move.

Roger Cole of the Peace and Neutrality Alliance told the Irish Times, "it must be open to question the constitutionality of forcing the people to vote again on exactly the same treaty since they have already given their final decision."

AP writes that a second refusal by the Irish electorate could doom the Lisbon Treaty, as it requires unanimous ratification by all 27 EU member states.

All of the other 26 EU countries have approved ratification of the treaty.

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Comments

[HuffEurope2]

The Irish will keep voting until they get it right.

And the poor old Brits can't have their much needed General Election (and begin to get their economy right) until AFTER the Lisbon Treaty is fully "in the bag".

[knosiswar]

The rider on the White Horse will come with the passage of this treaty.

Javier Solana will be elected president of the EU. The timing is such that he will likely be the figure to negotiate the coming 7 year peace treaty involving Israel and the Persians. He will bring a peace, a false peace, and will be honored by the Vatican.

[lightningbolt]

The Irish people are the last barrier blocking the way for a European dictatorship. They must vote NO again for their own survival as an independent democratic nation.

[natturnerx]

what a corrupt, cynical process : if the voters vote no in a referendum then they just keep bringing the same proposal back over & over until they finally vote yes. but once they vote yes they cant go back.

[Bitsko]

Reminds me of the extension of mayoral term limits here in New York City that was rammed through the city council (who extended their own terms limits as well), even after twice being defeated by the electorate.

[GhiaccioPronto]

yes, well they wanted their cake and eat it too, didn't they.

[DrVeruju]

The British Labour party reneged on a promise to allow a referendum on the Lisbon treaty because the Brits would vote NO.

From http://www.worldreports.org/news/222_impasse_driven_by_fears_of_harsh_i.r.s._investigations

Gordon Brown’s domestic political situation is so weak that the ‘builders of Europe’ are desperate for him to cling to office at least until the New Year, because the confused ‘Conservatives’ appear to be on the verge of doing just one thing right: holding a referendum on Britain’s relationship with ‘Europe’ if they are elected and the Lisbon Treaty hasn't been ratified by then (which they clearly anticipate it will have been). That, the EUdeologues calculate, would sink the European Union Collective’s Lisbon Treaty, which effectively destroys the residual national sovereignty of the satrap European nation states that have fallen into this long-range pan-German trap (2).

Although the German Constitutional Court has demanded legislation which will give supremacy over European Law to the Bundestag, so that the Lisbon Treaty may be in jeopardy ironically from the Germans themselves (as the Irish are being browbeaten into changing last year’s ‘NO’ decision in a new ‘change your mind’ referendum this autumn so as to deliver the answer that Brussels requires), a British General Election this autumn is regarded as the greater threat.

[ceolas]

To those who don't know, this treaty follows the "Maastricht" and "Nice" Treaties..­.

An Irish Bedtime Story for all Nice Children and not so Maastricht Adults

http://ceolas.net/#eu7x

The Happy Family
Once upon a time there was a family treaty-ing themselves to a visit in Lisbon.
On the sunny day that it was they decided to go out together.
Everyone had to agree on what they would do.
"So", said Daddy Brusselsprout "Let's all go for a picnic!"
"No", said Aunt Erin, "I don't want to".
Did they then think of something else, that they might indeed agree on?
Oh yes they did?
Oh no they didn't!
Daddy Brusselsprout asked all the others anyway, isolating Erin, and then asked her if instead, she would like to go with them to
the park and eat out of a lunch basket....

Kids, we'll finish this story tomorrow, and remember, in the EU yes means yes and no means yes as well!