It’s official, the Irish will head to the polls again in October for a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, the deal that would see the European Union’s biggest reform in years. The move follows a German court decision last week paving the way for the treaty’s ratification.
The date is set. The second referendum in Ireland on the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty will take place on Oct. 2, the government in Dublin announced Wednesday.
Prime Minister Brian Cowen said that he was confident that voters would approve the treaty this time around. Last year, Irish voters’ rejection of the treaty plunged the EU into a deep state of crisis.
A survey conducted at the beginning of June indicated that 54 percent of Irish voters would now vote in favor of the Lisbon Treaty and 28 percent would vote against it. Last June, 53 percent of Irish voters rejected the original draft of the treaty.
In mid-June 2009, however, Ireland successfully won legal guarantees at an EU summit in Brussels that Dublin’s sovereignty on defense policy and taxation as well as the right to preserve its strict abortion ban will be left intact.
“I believe these concerns have been addressed now in the shape of legal guarantees,” Cowen told parliament Wednesday. “On that basis, I have recommended to the government that we return to the people to seek their approval for Ireland to ratify the treaty and that referendum will take place on Oct. 2.”
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This referendum reminds me of Quebec – will it be yes to Canada or will it be no – or can we fence sit. The Irish have already decided on this issue, now the question will be reworked about the EU. It would appear that the EU proponents are like the separatists, keep asking the question and hope for a different result on a different day. I wonder if Jacques Parizeau is a paid consultant for the yes side. Cheers.
“You have been assimilated, resistance is futile.”
mid island mike
Let’s hope that the Irish get royaly pissed off with their ‘won’t take no’ for an answer politicians and come out to the polls to this time overwhelmingly reject this EU attempted coup.
Makes you wonder why the Irish gov’t won’t be as persistant passing laws that may actually help the county.
Obviously, once is not enough. Do governments ever learn, or will they continue to redo past mistakes.
There is a country song, “What part of NO, don’t you understand?” Seems to fit here.
mid island mike
( For those who may not know, there have been Maastricht and Nice treaties before this Lisbon Treaty…)
An Irish Bedtime Story for all Nice Children and not so Maastricht Adults
http://ceolas.net/#eu7x</a” rel=”nofollow”>http://ceolas.net/#eu7x
The Happy Family
Once upon a 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!