EU referendum: paving the way for Ireland to vote again

01 December 2008

Ireland is to propose to other member states at December's EU Summit a “solution” to the thorny problem of its vote against the Lisbon Treaty. But in reality a decision has already been made: Ireland will vote again on Lisbon in October or November 2009, writes Stephen Gardner. Of course this will not be an easy sell. The anti-Treaty Libertas group in Ireland has formed a coherent opposition to what it considers to be “bullying” by Brussels. But in many ways, the wind is blowing in favour of a positive re-vote. First, some cosmetic changes will be made, such as ensuring Ireland can keep its EU commissioner. Then information campaigns will be rolled out, so that voters “understand” the Treaty, which apparently they didn't last time. But most importantly there is the recession. Now its property bubble has burst, Ireland is expected to be hit hardest of all EU countries by the downturn. And as French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been saying, if Ireland wants a helping hand, it must recognise the need for EU reform. Anyway, it's not as if Ireland has not re-voted before. As pro-Lisbon Irish lawmaker Proinsias de Rossa pointed out at a recent European Parliament Constitutional Affairs Committee meeting, Ireland waited 16 months before voting again on the Nice Treaty. Why should Lisbon be any different? A version of this article was published in Private Eye.

 

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