 |
José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission: "The 'no' vote in Ireland has not solved the problems which the Lisbon Treaty is designed to solve."
|
|
|
DUBLIN -BRUSSELS (EJP)---Voters in Ireland have rejected the European Union's Lisbon Reform Treaty in a referendum by 53.4% to 46.6%.
The vote is considered as a major blow to leaders in the 27-nation EU, which requires all its members to ratify the treaty. Only Ireland has held a public referendum.
Commenting on the vote, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso made the following declaration on Friday: "As a supporter of the Treaty, the European Commission would have hoped for another result. However, we respect the outcome of the referendum."
"I have just spoken to Prime Minister Cowen, and he was clear that this vote should not be seen as a vote against the EU. Indeed, both sides in the campaign stressed the benefits of Irish membership: I believe that Ireland remains committed to building a strong Europe and playing a full and active part in the EU."
"The Irish government and the governments of the other Member States will now need to assess what this result means for the process. The Treaty was signed by all 27 Member States, so there is a joint responsibility to address the situation."
"The European Council meets next week – and that is the place where joint decisions should be taken on issues that concern us all. The "no" vote in Ireland has not solved the problems which the Lisbon Treaty is designed to solve. The ratification process is made up of 27 national processes, 18 Member States have already approved the Treaty, and the European Commission believes that the remaining ratifications should continue to take their course.
"At the same time, the EU institutions and the Member States should continue the work of delivering for the citizens of Europe on issues like growth and jobs, social cohesion, energy security, climate change and fighting inflation. Working together in the EU remains the best way to deal with the challenges affecting Europeans today."
The Slovenian Presidency of the EU said it “deeply regrets this outcome.”
“Nevertheless, we respect the democratic will of the Irish voters,” Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa said.
He said he will invite the Irish Prime Minister at the European Summit meeting in Brussels next week, to explain the reasons for the rejection of the treaty by
the Irish people.
“We will discuss about the situation and look for the ways to move forward.”
He added: “The Lisbon Treaty has already been ratified by two thirds of EU Member States. The Treaty is necessary to make Europe more efficient, more
democratic and transparent.”
The Lisbon Treaty, which is designed to help the EU cope with its expansion into eastern Europe, provides for a streamlining of the European Commission, the removal of the national veto in more policy areas, a new president of the European Union and a strengthened foreign affairs post.
The treaty was due to come into force on 1 January 2009.
Fourteen countries out of the 27 EU countries have completed the treaty ratification so far.
