A European crisis

Mr Sarkozy must base a consensus on a proper understanding of why the Irish rejected Lisbon, not on reckless calls for Dublin to be pressured
An incoming Conservative government in Britain would try to kill off the European Union’s Lisbon treaty, unless Ireland reverses its No vote on the controversial text before the next UK election
Dublin moves to address the crisis thrown up by Irish rejection of the EU’s Lisbon reform treaty by commissioning an opinion poll to find out why its citizens voted as they did
Negotiations on a new pact between the European Union and Russia risk being complicated by the confusion surrounding the adoption of the Lisbon reform treaty, according to Moscow’s ambassador to the EU
The UK prime minister is hailed by EU leaders but slammed by a High Court judge after he ordered that the Lisbon treaty be pushed through its final parliamentary stages
The French president said the EU trade commissioner’s offer to cut farm tariffs to secure a trade deal alienated Irish voters, leading them to reject the Lisbon treaty
Voters in Ireland have decisively rejected the European Union’s Lisbon treaty as more people than expected turned out to vote. Quentin Peel, the FT’s International affairs editor, explains why Irish voters so overwhelmingly turned against the political establishment and what it means for Europe


Mr Sarkozy must base a consensus on a proper understanding of why the Irish rejected Lisbon, not on reckless calls for Dublin to be pressured

It could still use the single currency if it left the EU but this would be like Panama using the dollar – a little sad, really, writes Wolfgang Münchau
The French, Dutch and Irish voted No to Europe because they have no other means to express displeasure with the way it is being run. European citizens would be less cynical if they were regularly invited to choose the people who run its affairs, says Charles Wyplosz
The EU is like some hideously persistent suitor who will not take No for an answer. Europe’s political leaders should resist the temptation to ‘respect’ the country’s referendum by seeking to overturn it, writes Gideon Rachman

An impression across Europe – not least among the young – is that the EU is in danger of offering pseudo-democracy, writes Larry Siedentop
A “multi-speed Europe” makes perfect sense – co-operation can only work to the extent that each member state decides. Ireland should be free to opt out, writes Nick Witney
Enlargement has been a fantastic success story. If that positive story is not told, there is a real danger of a backlash that will tie the region up in nationalist knots
If Germany, France and others want to go ahead on their own, a multi-speed Europe would be fine, writes Samuel Brittan
Ireland’s No offers a chance to rethink. If citizens took part in a day of deliberation before voting, they would be better informed, say Bruce Ackerman and James Fishkin