International

“It suited Brussels to have the Irish think that Ireland and the whole of Europe would be plunged into disaster in the event of a second 'no' to this European Constitution-light," says Dennis de Jong, leader of the SP group in the European Parliament. "Unfortunately for them, the vote still doesn't mean that the Lisbon Treaty has definitely been adopted."

The Irish yes does not signify that the treaty will automatically come into force. After Ireland, the Poles and Czechs must formally agree to the treaty and it is not beyond the realms of possibility that the Czech President, an open opponent of Lisbon, will wait until after next spring's UK elections to do so. The British Tories have announced that, should they win these elections, they are minded to put the treaty to the country's population in a referendum. What this means for the 'yes' side is that it's still too early to celebrate."

The SP continues to hope that this disastrous treaty will not in the end come into force. "This treaty is the wrong answer to the economic crisis," says Harry van Bommel, the SP's spokesman on European affairs in the Dutch parliament, who paid two visits to Ireland to support the no-campaign in the runup to the referendum. "It perpetuates a reliance on unbridled market forces. Europe deserves better."