EU Treaty Finally Wins Irish Approval

Irish voters have decisively approved a 27-nation treaty that would reshape European Union institutions to make them more effective after a decade of eastward expansion, according to political leaders, analysts and partial results Saturday.

Electoral officials said "yes" votes were outnumbering "no" in 41 of Ireland's 43 constituencies - a total reversal from the country's stunning rejection of the Lisbon Treaty last year.

The Irish agreed to vote again Friday after EU leaders offered key assurances designed to undermine anti-treaty arguments. The EU dropped its plans to prune the size of the European Commission, a move that would have cost Ireland its right to hold a seat continuously on the EU's key executive body. Brussels also reiterated, in formal declarations appended to the treaty, that it would have no control over Ireland's taxes, military neutrality or moral codes.

The pro-treaty camp also waged a stronger campaign the second time around, this time backed by key figures from sports, arts and most crucially the financial world. Business heavyweights Intel and Ryanair appealed for "yes" votes as the only way to ensure that Ireland remains a favored base for foreign companies.

Saturday's first official results foreshadowed a landslide for the pro-treaty side. North Kildare in Dublin's commuter belt voted 76.2 percent "yes," up 17 points from last year, a change mirrored in more than a half-dozen other districts from Waterford to Tipperary.

Only in Ireland's conservative northwest corner, Donegal, were voters still turning down the treaty. Donegal Northeast voted 51.5 percent "no," down 13 points from 2008, while neighboring Donegal Southwest voted 50.3 percent "no," also down 13 points.

The treaty reached by national leaders in the Portuguese capital in 2007 spells out how the EU should reshape its decision-making, size and image in line with its growth into Eastern Europe. It proposes to increase the ability of leaders to make decisions with majority rather than unanimous votes, but also gives more influence in policy-shaping to national legislatures and the European Parliament.

The agreement requires unanimous ratification across the 27-nation bloc, and the Irish are the only ones who required its approval by popular vote. All the other EU nations already have passed the treaty through their national parliaments. Only the heads of state of Poland and the Czech Republic have yet to withhold their assent, citing Ireland's uncertain approval.

Ireland rejected the treaty in a June 2008 referendum, leading to a second referendum. A second Irish rebuff would have killed the treaty and pressure would have built to chart a way forward that would not be subject to another Irish veto - the long-threatened "two-speed Europe" in which a core of like-minded nations moved ahead of nay-sayers like Ireland.

The European Union on Saturday called the Irish 'yes' an "overwhelming" vote of confidence in European integration "after such lengthy and careful deliberation."

"My message today is very simple: Thank you Ireland!," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said as the votes were still being counted in Ireland. "Ireland has given Europe a new chance."

In reference to recent EU aid to laid-off Irish computer workers as well as the European Central Bank's underwriting of a planned €54 billion ($80 billion) bailout of Irish banks, Barroso said, "Ireland has recognized the role that the European Union has played in responding to the economic crisis."

In Stockholm, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country now holds the six-month EU presidency, spoke of "a good day for Europe."

European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek said Ireland's 'yes' to the Lisbon Treaty shows the country's "true commitment" to the EU. "This is good news for Europe but it is not the end of the story."

Buzek said the EU faces major challenges, including unemployment, illegal immigration and an uncertain energy outlook that require EU nations to work together.

Many analysts said they were surprised to see early returns running so decisively in favor of the treaty. Many had forecast only a narrow victory for the treaty, citing the deep unpopularity of Prime Minister Brian Cowen.

Cowen planned a victory declaration even before the final result was declared later Saturday.

"I'm absolutely delighted for the country. It looks like a convincing win on this occasion," said Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin, who directed the government campaign. "It's good for Ireland, because I do passionately believe our future is in the European Union - and there was no real reason to vote no."

Ireland's Socialist Party leader Joe Higgins - one of the few elected Irish politicians to campaign against the treaty - blamed what he called "one of the most unequal and unbalanced campaigns in our history," including the intervention from Ryanair and Intel.

Anti-treaty campaigners sought to maximize anti-EU passions by claiming that an empowered Brussels would raise Ireland's taxes, slash its minimum wage, force its soldiers into a European army and legalize abortion and euthanasia. Ireland and EU authorities dismissed the claims as baseless.