Ireland after Lisbon Treaty vote

Most of the Irish web discussions I have seen after the no vote on the Lisbon Treaty have, understandably, centred of internal reasons for no and yes ballots, or on the roles of different players on the national scene.

In Jurist, the alert web publication of the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Law, Dr Laurent Pech of the National University of Ireland, Galway, offers a summary and an evaluation of the three most influential reasons for rejection put forward by Irish critics of the Treaty of Lisbon.

The guest column is called ‘After Ireland’s ‘No’: Long Live the EU Lisbon Treaty?’, and it is available at:

http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/forumy/2008/06/after-irelands-no-long-live-lisbon.php

But Pech offers enough of a European perspective to give food for thought concerning Ireland’s position in the real or outside world. He goes on to analyse the potential consequences for Ireland after the no vote, based on various options left to the other European states: limited reforms based on the Treaty of Nice, starting from scratch to negotiate a new treaty and continuing the ratification process.

***

Has Ireland played itself off-side? Does Ireland want to re-enter the play? How could it be done?


Ralf Grahn