Irish voters back EU reform treaty - officials

Source: Reuters

Sat Oct 3, 2009 12:33pm BST DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish voters have approved the European Union's Lisbon reform treaty, Ireland's foreign minister and opposition groups said on Saturday, removing an obstacle to the EU's ambitions to increase its global influence.

...

The leader of anti-Lisbon group Libertas said voters had approved the treaty. "This is a very convincing win," Declan Ganley told reporters at the main Dublin counting centre. "Of course I am disappointed, I think we have made a mistake."

Monitors were still counting votes following Friday's referendum on a treaty that requires the approval of all member states to go into force, and official results were expected late on Saturday afternoon.

But state radio RTE said early tallies from counting centres showed constituencies such as Dublin Central and Dublin North East had voted 56 percent in favour while in Galway city early indications put the 'Yes' vote at 63 percent.

"It looks like a 'Yes' vote. I want to sympathise and commiserate with all our people who put in a great effort for the love of their country," said Richard Greene, a spokesman for the Coir group which opposed the treaty.

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE59115B20091003?sp=true

There will be pressure on the Czech Republic and Poland to remove legal hurdles holding up the treaty's ratification there.

A new European Commission will take office in January. An EU president will be named by the EU governments and an EU foreign minister will take office.

A range of EU issues such as judicial and police cooperation, education and economic policy will no longer require unanimous backing. A majority vote will suffice. However, Britain and Ireland will opt out of the EU's justice and police decisions. Unanimity will still be required in foreign and defense policies, social security, taxation and cultural issues.

The EU will have a rights charter that covers freedom of speech and religion but also the right to shelter, education, collective labor bargaining and fair working conditions. Britain and Poland will opt out of this.

There will be an EU treaty guaranteeing that Dublin keeps control over its military, tax and moral affairs, including its ban on abortion.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091002/ap_on_re_eu/eu_ireland_eu_treaty_yes_vs_no

against the Czech constitution.

the Czech parliament has ratified the treaty. It's the neocon Vaclas Klaus who is for a second time trying to stop it by using judiciary loopholes not to sign it. Klaus is a gay-basher, global warming denyer, Putin lover (!) (he is elected with the help of decisive communist votes), in other words a complete asshole.

Monitors were still counting votes ...............

That's one "No" vote, and one "Yes" vote. Time to vote again; it's only fair!