"The fate of the Lisbon Treaty in the hands of the Irish": the French newspaper Le Monde opens the online version with a headline about the referendum taking place in Ireland today for the ratification of the new reform treaty. It is the only public poll ever convened for the approval of the treaty: the other 26 EU countries have decided so far to proceed through their parliaments. Just yesterday the legislative assemblies of Finland and Estonia said yes to the Treaty, thus bringing the ratifications to 17. "Ireland is keeping all Europe aflutter", according to the Belgian Le Soir, while the Spanish El Paìs claims that "Ireland is afraid of losing its privileges in the EU". English newspapers seem to be less interested, while articles about the referendum can be found on the websites of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, European Voice (the most widely read weekly paper in the EU) and Le Figaro. Le Monde thinks the result of the poll is "very uncertain" and adds: "The latest survey published last weekend by the Red C Institute shows that the ‘no’ field has gained ground, but the ‘yes’ one is still leading the polls". The polling stations are open from 7 am to 10 pm. Votes will be counted afterwards.
