Ireland Votes to Streamline the European Union

Sixteen months after rejecting the same treaty, voters in Ireland have emphatically accepted the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty—an agreement that gives more power to the European Parliament and creates the position of the president of the European Council.

The BBC:

Irish voters have strongly endorsed the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty - 16 months after their first vote rejecting it plunged EU reforms into deadlock.

About 67% voted “Yes”, official results from the latest referendum showed. Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen hailed a “clear and resounding” endorsement.

The EU Commission called it a “vote of confidence” in the EU. Nearly all member states have ratified Lisbon.

The treaty is aimed at streamlining decision-making in the 27-nation bloc.

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The Czech Republic and Poland are the only EU countries to have not yet ratified the Lisbon Treaty.