How will you vote in the Lisbon Treaty referendum?

[FutureTaoiseach]

I'm definitely voting "No". I may be open to considering a renegotiated treaty later on though.

You think there's going to be a renegotiated treaty? This is the renegotiated treaty? We'll be put in a corner by ourselves like the Union's naughty, errant child while the rest get on with things if we vote against.

People are perfectly entitled to vote No but can we end the fantasy of Ireland single handedly starting a third set of talks?

I'll be voting Yes. My trust is in the Government and Department of Foreign Affairs to have not negotiated away our sovereignty

Fergalr, the legal reality is that whatever threats are thrown in our direction, they won't get their treaty through without our consent. The "No" to Nice the first time around acheived the Seville Declarations and the changes to the constitution to safeguard neutrality. The Danish no to Maastricht acheived opt-outs from the Euro, EU citizenship, judicial-cooperation and the common foreign and security policy. So the precedent is there. If they want their treaty, they better come up with opt-outs and changes to make it acceptable to the Irish people. And to Sarkozy, Merkel and the gang, that's called "democracy".

Your post is typical of the headmasterly way the yes side talks down to no voters. We mustn't vote no because we don't want to be naughty.

[DaveM]

I'll be voting NO in all likliehood but I'm open to persuasion.

[Defeated Romanticist]

I was a No, then I was a yes, now I'm thoroughly confused, I'll probably vote yes on party orders. I'm not in long enough to do an O'Keefe and get away with it.


[size=7]Andrew[/size], do you know who votes what way on P.ie polls?

I am curious because many of the polls do not reflect the zeitgeist of the threads, but that might be because of the higher level of activity of the No posters

[seabhcan]

On balance, Yes.

It isn't an ideal treaty but they're no major problems with it. The No side arguments are hollow.

[mmclo]

The Charter of Fundamental Rights will override the Irish Constitution allowing the ECJ to strike down masses of legislation in new areas like asylum, industrial relations etc.

No it only is applicable against the EU Institutions

The raising of the minimum blocking-minority from 27%+ to 35%+ will make it harder to block legislation on the Council of Ministers via QMV that we don't like. The surrender of vetoes amounts to an erosion of sovereignty. The end of the Irish Commissioner robs Ireland of any automatic right to a say in EU legislation on the top EU table.

you can't accpet the EU as it is and object to QMV, how often are we on the wrong side of majority votes?...do we want Malta blocking what we want...it's all about give and take and normally negotiated. Of course everyone is making sacifices in terms of commisisoners does that mean that every country is denied "automatic right to a say in EU legislation" how does that work when nobody has any say atall atall

The mutual-defence pact locks Ireland into a militarised European superstate where Irish sons and grandsons will be sent to foreign wars that do not concern us.

Where have we heard that before...oh yeh Nice, Amsterdam, Maastricht, SEA, 1973...thought you accpeted EU as it is i.e. including a CFSP, EU forces are keeping the peace in Kosovo, Bosnia and the DRC...which would you withdraw. There is nothing new in this treaty on those areas. There is no mutual defence pact and if one was proposed we are bound to reject it under our own constitution 29.4.9

The State shall not adopt a decision taken by the European Council to establish a common defence pursuant to Article 1.2 of the Treaty referred to in subsection 7° of this section where that common defence would include the State.

Tax harmonisation

The EU has now power over domestic taxation, rightly or wrongly that is a red line for the govt. any changes without Ireland would problem advantage our comparitive advantage[/quote]

[Casualbets]

I'll more than likely vote no, but I'll wait until I learn more about it until I make a final decision... I doubt I'll campaign for or agin it anyway...

[constitutionus]

I was a No, then I was a yes, now I'm thoroughly confused, I'll probably vote yes on party orders. I'm not in long enough to do an O'Keefe and get away with it.


Andrew, do you know who votes what way on P.ie polls?

I am curious because many of the polls do not reflect the zeitgeist of the threads, but that might be because of the higher level of activity of the No posters

im actually shocked its so close (45% to 40% with 13% undecided as i type) considering this is a political site and alot of posters here are politically active and are members of political parties i thought theyd be much more likely to support party lines. seeing as all the main parties support this treaty , and hence be the majority of people on the board, i thought it'd be landslide yes.

this thing could really go any way if you look at it that way.

[mmclo]

this thing could really go any way if you look at it that way.

great...complacency has been proven to be the yes sides achilles heal, the more they are on their toes (to mix the metaphors) the better

[Arminius]

I'm voting NO. As many times as I can.

[fergalr]

Ballot stuffing from the No Campaign?