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Irish vote ‘No’ to EU expansion
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IRISH voters, in a stunning blow to the European Union's eastward expansion plans, overwhelmingly rejected the Nice Treaty on EU reform in a referendum on Friday.
The treaty, which must be approved by all 15 EU members, is intended to make reforms to allow the bloc to accept 12 new members, most of them from Eastern Europe.
“The treaty is now dead as far as I can see,” opposition Labour Party leader Ruairi Quinn said, summing up the rout for the Irish political establishment which had strongly backed ratification.
The official in charge of the vote count said 54 percent of the electorate voted against the Nice Treaty and 46 percent in favour. The turnout was low, with just over 32 per cent of the 2.9 million electorate casting their ballots.
The EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Guenter Verheugen, said however the Irish rejection would not stop expansion despite a requirement for all EU states to ratify the treaty.
Britain said it hoped the Nice Treaty could still be ratified by all member states despite the Irish rejection.
The timing of the rejection is deeply embarrassing for the EU, whose leaders meet late next week in the Swedish city of Gothenburg along with leaders of the candidate nations for their regular six-monthly summit.
Europe's common currency, the euro, was steady after the vote, holding near 85 cents in afternoon trading in New York, unchanged from its previous US close.
Even Prime Minister Bertie Ahern's Dublin constituency voted strongly against the Nice Treaty. The overall tally was 529,478 against and 453,461 for the treaty.
Ireland is the only EU member required by its constitution to ratify the Nice Treaty by referendum, and the outcome left its leaders scratching their heads about what to do next.
Ireland has given strong backing to EU treaties in the past, but the mood had soured ahead of Friday's vote.
(SD-Agencies)
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