Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

Hostility to the European Union makes for strange bedfellows indeed. What is provided for in the treaty will apply equally to all the states which ratify it but what is different is that unanimity is not required for the treaty to come into effect, unlike previous treaties. Ratification by 12 states is sufficient, with a timetable of 1 January next year.

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