By Francesca Ross - 3rd October 2009
Liberal MEP Andrew Duff has said that voters have given "decisive backing" to building a better EU in the second Irish referendum.
Duff, who is watching the count at Dublin castle, told TheParliament.com, "The Irish people have given their decisive backing to the Lisbon treaty.
"This vote does credit to all those political forces in Ireland which have had to combat, over many months, the lies and distortions about the European project peddled by nationalists and europhobes."
The member of the constitutional affairs committee added, "Ireland has clearly and decisively added its weight to the building of a stronger, more effective and more democratic EU."
Echoing sentiments from the Irish foreign minister Michael Martin, he said, "Now all 27 countries have taken their own democratic decisions to back EU reform."
Should the treaty clear the hurdle of the Irish vote the next step will be for EU leaders to push for Poland and the Czech Republic to ratify the document.
"No further delay can be tolerated in bringing the treaty into force as quickly and efficiently as possible," Duff said.
However, eurosceptic Czech president Václav Klaus has already said he will drag his heels on signing the treaty into law.
"It would be the height of folly for Václav Klaus to block the entry into force of the treaty," Duff said.
"One does not expect the president of the Czech Republic to behave like a vexatious litigant."
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