European Institute

In his first public remarks since the Irish rejected the Treaty of Lisbon, His Excellency John Bruton, Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to the US, offered a rich and insightful assessment of the historic vote and its implications for Ireland and the European Union. Expressing his personal views, the former Prime Minister of Ireland contended that the impermeability of the treaty itself, concern about loss of sovereignty,  and the absence of belief in distinctly European values led voters in Ireland to vote No.