History shows that a country needn’t be strong or influential to stand up to a supra-national union. All that is needed for this is that its citizens take a clear stand. And this is something the Irish can be proud of.

Obviously, having been under British rule for many centuries, the population of the Green Isle is understandably skeptical of the policy of common decision-making and is jealous of their modern-day independence. This is not the first time they have voted against reforms to the European Union: in 2001, Irish voters expressed their disagreement with the Nice Treaty, which they also only approved on a second referendum—and then only after the European Union promised not to challenge Ireland’s neutrality.

So why did the Irish vote in favor of the Lisbon Treaty on 2 October? After all, those who campaigned actively against the Treaty have been hollering for all to hear that not a single comma was changed in it. Nor is it likely that an excess of confidence in politicians stood behind the change of heart: Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Brian Cowen and his ruling Fianna Fàil party are at the bottom of the ratings barrel, while the opposition has been pushing for a second rejection. On the other hand, the related public awareness campaign was strong enough to help shape or to even radically affect public opinion.

Does this mean that the “Yes” vote reflected a real understanding of the benefits of the Treaty?

Influential EU politicians had warned many times what the potential consequences would be of a negative vote—not so much for the European Union as for Ireland itself. The financial crisis reinforced this effect. Unemployment of 12.6% has a bigger impact on voters than the EUR 1.84 minimum hourly wage that the anti-Lisbon movement called The Cóir claims will threaten Irish workers (the current minimum is EUR 8.65). After all, it is investment from the European Union that once launched sharp economic growth in a stagnating Irish economy, so the prospects of political isolation are hardly attractive under the current circumstances.

Still, the question arises whether the heated debate, flyers, round-tables and money that were spent to hold the two referenda were worth the final result. With Czech President Vaclav Klaus also holding off signing the Treaty together with his Polish counterpart, the Irish referendum has not been the final word on the issue of institutional reform of the European Union.

The Lisbon Treaty and Kyiv’s hopes

Lisbon Treaty ratification at the Union level would be a good sign for Ukraine, as it provides instruments for enhancing absorption capacity of the EU (according to the current Nice Treaty the European Union can accommodate up to 28 members).

Moreover, it deepens the power of the European Parliament, which can probably result in the financial aid on top of the annual support Ukraine receives from the EU. It stems from the fact that the European Parliament is responsible for drawing up the Budget item on spending on partner countries. And while currently its function is more consultative, with the Lisbon Treaty in place, the Parliament will have the final word on approving expenditures within its purview. Given that Polish MP Jerzy Busek will be the President of the Parliament until January 2012, who looks favorably on Ukraine, a ratified Lisbon Treaty could be of great benefit to Ukraine financially, at least in the short term.