Baltics hold out on Lisbon

  • 2008-06-18
  • By Talis Saule Archdeacon and Marge Tubalkain-Trell
RIGA - TALLINN - Leaders in all three Baltic countries urged Europe to find a way to press on with the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty despite its rejection by Irish voters.
Baltic leaders threw their voices behind European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso in calling for the rest of the member states to ratify the treaty. The three Baltic States have already ratified the treaty.
"We are optimistic about the future and we believe a solution will be found. We will also urge other EU member states to continue ratification of the Lisbon Treaty," Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus told journalists on June 16.

"Hasty decisions should not be made, further solutions should be searched for, and the ratification process should be continued in the remaining member states," Latvian Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins said in a June 14 press release.
The Lisbon Treaty was rejected by Ireland, the only country constitutionally required to hold a referendum on the document, in a June 13 vote. It marked the second time a major unifying treaty has been rejected following the failed constitutional treaty in 2005. 

Baltic foreign ministers have said that while the rejection of the treaty is a blow to the European Union, the bloc is still searching for a way to move forward and salvage what it can.
"Certainly the rejection of the treaty in Ireland doesn't stop the work of the EU, but the reasons that the Lisbon treaty was needed haven't changed. In other words, questions which could be solved with the Lisbon Treaty still need answering and new solutions must be sought for them," Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said.

In a June 17 radio interview, Lithuanian Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas said he was "disappointed" with the result. He said the treaty was especially important for the Baltics because it will help address some of the energy issues that plague the countries, which are highly dependent on Russia for gas.
The Irish community in the Baltics, meanwhile, has also expressed its disappointment with the referendum results.

"The Embassy and the Foreign Ministry are very disappointed with the results of the vote, but it's a bit early to say what will happen," Irish Embassy in Latvia representative Aoife Ni Fhearghail told The Baltic Times.
Fhearghail said many Irish voted "no" because they did not understand the treaty.
"The people in the campaign did support the idea of a European Union, but they had problems with the treaty. Many voted 'no' for left wing reasons as well as right wing reasons and there was just a lot of confusion among the voters," she said.

The Lisbon Treaty, which is meant as a replacement for the failed constitutional treaty, would streamline EU decision-making by strengthening the responsibilities of key figureheads and increasing the role of qualified majority voting.
The referendum failed with 46.43 percent of Irish voters in favor of the treaty and 53.66 percent against. There was only about a 45 percent voter turnout.
It has so far already been approved by 18 EU member states. It was scheduled to come into effect in January 2009.

Ireland also previously rejected the Treaty of Nice, which was meant to help the bloc cope with the 2004 enlargement, but later passed the treaty in a controversial second referendum. EU leaders have said they may try to take this approach again, but many Irish leaders have argued that it is not plausible in the current political environment.