Irish voters decide Europe's fate

DUBLIN, Ireland, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Irish voters Friday will decide the fate of the EU Constitution.

Ireland's 3 million-strong electorate heads to the polls Friday to accept or reject the Lisbon Treaty, aimed at streamlining decision-making in the 27-member bloc. Ireland is the only country in the EU that holds a referendum on the treaty.

Last year more than 53 percent of Irish voters said "No" to Lisbon, plunging the EU into an identity crisis. The current opinion polls indicate a majority pro-Lisbon, with 55 percent supporting the treaty.

Ireland's government has been lobbying in favor of the treaty, arguing that another rejection would marginalize Ireland in Europe.

Prime Minister Brian Cowen called Friday's vote a "defining moment in Ireland's destiny."

"The road the Irish choose will not only determine the shape of our economy, but will also define our place in the wider world," he was quoted by the BBC as saying.

Ireland has been hit hard by the economic crisis, and the Lisbon camp argues that the treaty will hand down more of the EU's economic benefits to individual member states.

The "No" camp, however, warns that too much Irish sovereignty would go to Brussels and claims the country's military neutrality is at risk.

While voters will decide over the same legislation text, EU diplomats have given Dublin assurances that some of its key laws -- for example outlawing abortion -- would be left untouched.

Mary Hanafin, the Irish social and family minister, told the BBC that voters had good reasons to reject Lisbon in 2008.

"They were concerned about issues that were raised about neutrality, about taxation, about the right to life, about losing our commissioner," she said.

But this time, she added, those concerns are baseless.

"Our colleagues in Europe have given us legal guarantees on all of those issues, and because they have been addressed and because people are looking to the future, the economy of this country and our place in Europe. We believe it'll be a 'Yes' vote."

Twenty-four EU countries have ratified the treaty; besides Ireland, only Poland and the Czech Republic still have to do so. Those two nations are waiting for the Irish vote before proceeding with their ratification.

There will be no exit polls on Friday. Official results are not expected until Saturday.