Irish justice minister concedes Lisbon defeat

Across Ireland, voters have strongly voted No to the Lisbon Treaty, which looks all but certainly set for defeat.

Nationwide, based on a mix of official and unofficial tallies, the No is leading the Yes side 53.7 percent to 46.3 percent on a high turn-out of over 50 percent.

Dermot Ahern, the Irish justice minister, speaking on RTE television, said: "We're in uncharted waters here...The results are quite clear," he added, "I don't see how they can be overturned [from where they are at this point]."

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Question marks over EU reaction

Britain has already signaled that London would continue with ratification while French prime minister Francois Fillon has said it would mean the end of the treaty.

According to Reuters, Britain has told other EU member states that it will complete the ratification process whatever the result of Ireland's referendum, set to be announced this afternoon (13 June).

Paris has signalled that it does not see any prospects for the Lisbon Treaty if Irish voters reject it. "If the Irish decide to reject the Lisbon treaty, obviously, there will be no Lisbon treaty," French prime minister Francois Fillon said in a TV interview on Thursday (12 June), according to media reports.

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Brussels calls for Lisbon treaty ratification to continue

The European Commission has called for ratification of the Lisbon treaty to continue, despite the No result in Ireland's referendum. "This vote should not be seen as a vote against the EU… [It] has not solved the problems which the Lisbon Treaty is designed to solve," commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said in Brussels on Friday (13 June).

According to final results 53.4 percent of Irish people voted against the EU's Lisbon treaty in Thursday's referendum, while 46.6 percent voted in favour. Participation was at 53.13 percent.

Nevertheless, Mr Barroso said he believed "the treaty is alive" and "we should go on and try to find a solution." It is "important now that the EU does not fall again in depression and does not forget there are other issues to deal with," he added.

In a joint statement later on, France and Germany also called for the ratification of the Lisbon treaty to continue

Euobserver