CyprusVista

The Republic of Cyprus parliament has approved the so-called Lisbon Treaty, bringing the total of EU countries who have ratified the document to 20. However, all 27 EU members must approve the treaty, designed to simplify decision-making processes, before it can take effect. The treaty also paves the way for further EU expansion into the former Balkan states, and to create an EU president to represent a stronger, united EU.

A major stumbling block occurred when the Irish people rejected the treaty in a referendum held in June. This poses a serious problem for the EU, as the Irish vote has effectively stalled the whole process. The EU will be exerting pressure on the new Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister), Brian Cowen, to find a solution. Ironically, Cowen himself campaigned for the ‘yes’ vote, but the Irish people voted 53.4% against. After the results, Cowen acknowledged: “The Irish people made a sovereign decision. It was made at the ballot box and it must be respected.”

Ireland is the only EU country to hold a referendum on the treaty so far, and post-voting research into why people voted ‘no’ has shed fascinating light on the outcome.
• 22% said they voted ‘no’ because of lack of information
• 12% said they voted ‘no’ to protect their Irish identity
• 6% said they did not trust politicians and voted ‘no’ to protect their tax system
• only 1% voted ‘no’ to control immigration
• 50% of those who did not vote at all said they stayed away from the polls as they did not understand the issues

Such an outcome, of course, has interesting implications for any future referendums on unification of North and south Cyprus. Clearly, the most important lesson to take on board is the sheer number of people who stayed away or voted ‘no’ in the Irish referendum because they simply did not understand what they were voting for. Any future proposed North/south solution must be crystal clear and easy to grasp, so people know exactly what they are voting for, to give unification of Cyprus the best possible chance at any future polls.

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