Lisbon Treaty - Countdown Begins

June 12th, the Irish nation will go to the polls to vote Yes or No on the so called Lisbon Treaty. The odds are, however, that if you vote, you will almost certainly not have read the full text drawn up. And no surprise, as it is a weighty tome (or CD) and written in the best Euro- speak. In other words the Brussels bureaucratic machine went into overdrive on this one. Most likely, if you have decided to vote Yes or No already, you won't be for changing over the next two months, but a vast swathe of the populace are either undecided, don't care or don't even know about it. I think it is vitally important that you check out both sides of the argument because, uniquely, we are the only EU nation to hold a referendum on this. The wise old heads in Europe have denied the Dutch and French a chance to scupper their federalist (in my opinion) vision of one president, one giant superstate with regional councils (formerly governments) and one giant economy.One tax rate for all, one supreme European court for all, and one army. So this won't happen you say? Read the treaty, its your duty to be informed. I'm glad we have the opportunity to vote, and I would say most of Europe are jealous of the fact. The politicians are holding their breath.

View blog reactions