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Article: Backgrounder: Ireland and Lisbon Treaty
- Article from:
- Xinhua News Agency
- Article date:
- September 30, 2009
CopyrightCopyright 2009 Xinhua News Agency. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Backgrounder: Ireland and Lisbon Treaty
DUBLIN, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Republic of Ireland will hold a
second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty on Friday. During the
previous referendum in June 2008, Irish voters rejected the treaty
with 53.4 percent voting "No" and 46.6 percent "Yes" due to their
concerns over Ireland's military neutrality, its opposition to
abortion, national rights on taxation.
In June, the European Union (EU) took a major step forward toward
implementation of its reform treaty, agreeing to provide legally-
binding guarantees to Ireland to overcome voters' misgivings.
The EU member states ensured that when the Irish people vote on
the Lisbon Treaty in October, it will ...