The Spanish Government has voted overwhelmingly to ratify the Lisbon Treaty, intended to streamline EU decision-making, and to create a new EU president and foreign affairs chief. When it is signed by the King, Spain will become the 23rd EU country to approve it.

The treaty needs to be ratified by all 27 EU states to come into force, and so far, only Ireland has held a referendum; for French President Sarkozy, who also currently holds the rotating EU presidency, Ireland must hold a second vote, following their rejection of the treaty about a month ago.

EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has said that Spain has shown "unwavering support" for Europe. "I believe that today's approval of the treaty is a clear confirmation of the determination to move forward with the ratification process," he said in a statement.

BBC

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If Sarkozy, even tries to meddle in Irish affairs I'll go home to vote no. We have been through this before , did Sarkozy give his people a second chance when his people voted no?
He just made it harder for the Irish government to have a second referendum now anyhow as it would be like we are only doing it because he told us like little schoolkids being told what to do by the headmaster.
How can these politicians say that the people are for this when the people have no say in the matter.

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Tom I think people are waking up to what the term "Democracy" means in the EU.

If the Irish won't play ball they will just change the rules and make something up as they go along to force the thing through whatever mark my word!

In the UK we were promised a referendum and then when the powers that be realised they would have lost it they said it wasn't necessary because it wasn't an important document and was just "tidying things up"

Its going to be another reason that Gordon Brown if he is still around at the next election will be humiliated at the polls by the Conservatives..

After annoying Irish politicians with what seemed like arrogant remarks recently, French President Nicolas Sarkozy is on a one-day official visit to Dublin to discuss the Irish rejection of the Lisbon Treaty.

President Sarkozy had said that Ireland would have to hold a second referendum on the EU treaty, but in an interview with El Pais, the French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner seemed to be trying to mitigate the French position, stressing that President Sarkozy was intending to listen to Irish views.

Kouchner said ""we're not visiting Ireland as President of the EU. We'll listen to the political parties, to civic society, to the intellectuals... . It's not true to say that this can be settled quickly. We need time".

El Pais
BBC

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