Ireland backs EU constitution in referendum

About 67% voted "Yes", official results from the latest referendum showed. Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen hailed a "clear and resounding" endorsement.

Political leaders across the EU have also welcomed the result.

The president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, said it was a great day for Europe.

He urged the leaders of Poland and the Czech Republic - the only other countries yet to ratify Lisbon - to sign the treaty as soon as possible.

The treaty - which is aimed at streamlining decision-making in the 27-nation bloc - cannot take effect until all 27 member states ratify it.

According to final results, 67.1% of Irish voters approved it, while 32.9% voted "No". Turnout in the three-million electorate was 58%.

The parliaments of Poland and the Czech Republic have approved the treaty and Polish President Lech Kaczynski is expected to sign it in the coming days.

But the Czech Republic's Eurosceptic President, Vaclav Klaus, said he would not sign the treaty until his country's Constitutional Court had pronounced on its validity.

Ireland was the only EU member state to hold a referendum on Lisbon, though there have been calls for referendums in several countries.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, called the vote "an important victory for Ireland and for all of Europe".

He said it was just a matter of time until the EU "finally can push the button for the better European co-operation that the Lisbon Treaty will give us".

Irish opinion is thought to have swung behind the "Yes" vote this time because of the severity of the economic downturn, as well as the legal "guarantees" on Irish sovereignty that the EU pledged after the first referendum.