
Originally Posted by
KerrAvon
The EU didn't force two referendums. The Irish Constitution required a referendum for the Treaty to be ratified. The Irish people narrowly said no, the EU made some concessions and the Irish people then said yes by a handsome margin.
What happened was an exercise in democracy and of the Irish people exercising their national sovereignty.
The right of any national government to veto an EU army can only be removed by a treaty change, which would mean going back to the member states and a further referendum in Ireland. Given one of the things the Irish didn't like about Lisbon was a perceived risk to their historical neutrality, it's hard to see them agreeing, let alone the UK.