Irish "no" puts Malta's sixth EP seat in jeopardy

The Irish referendum rejection of the Lisbon reform treaty had put the sixth seat allocated for Malta in the European Parliament in jeopardy, Foreign Minister Tonio Borg told timesofmalta.com this afternoon.

He said the outcome of the referendum was "extremely disappointing", especially since the reform treaty had been ratified by most of the EU member states and was in the process of being ratified by the rest.

"The more vociferous 'no' vote has won because of the low turnout," Dr Borg said.

He said the situation will now be discussed at a General Affairs Council meeting, which he will attend on Monday, following by the EU summit a few days later. However the EU has already said there is no Plan B for such a situation.

One of the gains for Malta in the Lisbon reform treaty was the allocation of a sixth seat in the European Parliament as from the next EP elections.

But Dr Borg said that unless the new impasse was resolved in about six months, this was unlikely to happen.

European Parliament elections are to be held in the middle of next year.

The Irish government earlier today acknowledged that the "no" vote had won the referendum, held yesterday, potentially scuppering EU reform plans.

Justice Minister Dermot Ahern conceded the vote shortly after noon as tallies from around the country showed the treaty had been defeated in an overwhelming number of constituencies.

"It looks like this will be a 'No' vote," Ahern told RTE television. "At the end of the day for a myriad of reasons the people have spoken."

Ireland is one of the most pro-European countries in the bloc and the only one to entrust its voters with a referendum on the treaty, which replaces an EU constitution rejected by Dutch and French voters in 2005.

RTE said tallies showed the treaty would be carried only in a handful of constituencies, mainly in the capital Dublin.

The victory for the "No" camp means a country with fewer than 1 percent of the EU's 490 million population could wreck a treaty painstakingly negotiated over years by leaders of all 27 member states.

"If the Irish people decide to reject the treaty of Lisbon, naturally, there will be no treaty of Lisbon," French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said late on Thursday.

However, other French officials have said work on the treaty could continue. France assumes the rotating EU presidency in a matter of weeks and was supposed to be in charge of setting up the new system which would take effect at the start of the year.

The treaty, intended to make the EU stronger and more effective, had the backing of the three main political parties in Ireland, which has prospered under EU membership. Farmers groups, businesses and many labour unions also backed it.

On polling day bookmakers were still taking bets giving it overwhelming odds to pass.

But while the country ranks in surveys as one of the EU's most pro-European states, opponents say the treaty reduces small countries' clout and gives Brussels new foreign and defence policy powers that undermine Ireland's historic neutrality.

It wasn't the first time Irish voters have shocked the EU. They almost wrecked the bloc's plans for eastward expansion in 2001 by rejecting the Nice treaty, but the government staged a second referendum in which that pact passed.

The government has said it is not considering a re-run this time around.

The Lisbon treaty envisages a long-term president of the European Council of EU leaders, a stronger foreign policy chief and a mutual defence pact. One of its main benefits for Malta is a sixth seat in the European Parliament.

Fourteen countries have already ratified the treaty in their national parliaments, including Malta..

EU leaders meeting in Brussels next week are expected to reaffirm their commitment to it and may ask Ireland to indicate how it intends to proceed.

That would put the onus on Dublin either to seek changes, opt-outs or assurances and put them to a second referendum, or to find a way to allow the others to proceed with the key reforms without Ireland.