What Sort of Europe after Lisbon's Passage?

FROM lamp-posts all over Dublin, a nice-looking woman smiled at passers-by. “It’s simple,” the poster read; “I’m safer in Europe”. What her safety had to do with the Lisbon treaty—a series of technical if important changes to the EU’s internal rule book—was less clear than the veiled threat: Ireland’s European partners were not in a mood to tolerate a second display of dissent, only 15 months after the first.

Pro-Lisbon campaigners hinted that Ireland would be ejected from the European mainstream if it voted No again. Business leaders suggested that foreign multinationals would shun the place (no matter that grumpy, Eurosceptic Britain is an EU champion at attracting foreign direct investment). Such threats had an effect. On October 2nd Irish voters reversed themselves and voted Yes by a thumping 67% to 33%. Supporters of the treaty now hope that it will come into force before the end of this year, unless opponents in the Czech Republic, including President Vaclav Klaus, scupper its ratification (see article).

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