Posted on 06/13/2008 5:17:43 AM PDT by IrishMike
Ireland vote rejects EU treaty
Irish Justice Minister Dermot Ahern has said substantial referendum returns show that Ireland has rejected the European Union reform treaty.
Electoral officials expect to confirm the result later.
Mr Ahern based his conclusion on tallies of votes produced nationally by election observers as well as early official returns.
They showed the "no" camp ahead in the vast majority of Ireland's 43 electoral constituencies, while pro-treaty voters were clearly ahead in only a few.
The expected result will send shock waves throughout the EU.
Ireland was the only member to subject the Lisbon Treaty to a popular vote, while other countries have been ratifying the painstakingly negotiated pact only through their national governments.
Mr Ahern said "We're in uncharted waters."
(Excerpt) Read more at ukpress.google.com ...
Well done by the Irish.
For European Union politicians who back the treaty it is indeed an unlucky Friday 13th.
Without Ireland on board Lisbon is dead.
Since Ireland is the only country in Europe that respects the will of their people, they obviously do not belong. Eject the Irish from the EU, so the rest of the nations can follow their unimpeded path toward fascism.
Excellent News, EU on the Run...
Here’s cheers to my Irish cousins ... congratulations on standing up to the tyranny of the EU.
We're not gonna take it
Never did and never will
We're not gonna take it
Gonna break it, gonna shake it,
let's forget it better still
I'm waiting for Otto von Habsburg to step up and declare himself Holy Roman Emperor.
The treaty was negotiated in Lisbon last December by EU leaders as a way of replacing the proposed European constitution, which had earlier been rejected by voters in France in the Netherlands.
It would have provided for many of the same Europe-wide government arrangements foreseen in the rejected constitution, but as an international treaty, only parliamentary approval was necessary for ratification.
The exception was Ireland, the lone European country that requires a referendum on all constitutional changes.
Opinion polls across Europe consistently show that political elites in member states are far more enthusiastic about making the EU into a supranational government than ordinary voters.
I might even move there from my beloved Minnesota.
Cheers!
I think labour (Blair) promised a referendum before the elections, but Gordon Brown has broken that pledge.
Someone correct me if I am wrong.
I guess Labour’s argument is that this new treaty (Lisbon) is not longer a constitution, thus no pledge has been broken.
Cheeky bastards.
Cheers.
Ireland got so many subsidies from the EU, that it was sure the Irish would vote "yes", and they were supposed to give the constitution legitimacy, even though most governments were careful not to let the citizens vote.
Guess the Irish still don’t want to be slaves. Imagine that.
England hasn't had a referendum, for the full and sufficient reason that it would be rejected out of hand.
Think "stealth government" and you won't be far wrong.
Correct - this Brit’ll be raising a glass of something appropriate tonight to our cousins on the Emerald Isle.
Good beer, bad health care.
Lotsa blondes.
(Except for the recent wave of Somali immigrants.)
Cheers!
Siochan leat
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