Brussels – The European Movement International (EMI) welcomes the Irish YES as an important step in the ratification process of the Lisbon Treaty, which will make for a more democratic, more transparent and more efficient EU.

The EMI would like to congratulate its President, Pat Cox, for his role in the successful campaign “Ireland for Europe”, which intensively promoted a YES to Lisbon over the past months. Pat Cox suspended his term as President of the EMI to fully concentrate on campaigning for a YES vote in Ireland and this decision proved to be right

The Irish YES closed one of the main chapters of the ratification process since the Treaty was rejected during the first Irish referendum in June 2008.

The Irish YES vote proves that the EU is ready to move forward despite the difficulties and that the process of the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon may now continue as foreseen.

The European Movement International therefore urges the Czech Republic and Poland to ratify the Lisbon Treaty as soon as possible so that it can finally enter into force and change the institutional structure and functioning of the EU, enhance its efficiency and democratic legitimacy, and improve the coherence of its actions.