"I want to congratulate Greece on its Parliament’s approval of the Lisbon Treaty". José Manuel Barroso, president of the EU Commission, points out that the Assembly of Athens gave the go-ahead to the Treaty this morning. On the very day the Irish voters are called to the polls to ratify the Treaty, the number of member states that have finally approved it reaches 18. In addition, Barroso announced a press conference to comment the results of the Irish referendum as soon as they are published tomorrow. The Polish President Lech Kaczynski said he will still ratify the Treaty, regardless of Dublin’s vote. The German MEP Elmar Brok, an expert in foreign policy, said he is "very worried" about the result of the polls, stating that some controversial issues, not directly concerning the Treaty (Ireland’s tax sovereignty, social issues, farmers’ claims), might steer the voters’ decisions. Above all, Brok explained that, if the votes against should prevail, other countries, first and foremost the United Kingdom, might be tempted to opt for a referendum.
