Though the results are in and the Stability Treaty will be ratified in Ireland, this infographic reminds us there is still a way to go before it comes into effect.
The Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA), an independent forum, created the infographic below ahead of the Irish referendum, but even if we picture our pointer as green and not yellow, it’s still clear the ratification of the treaty is far from complete.
Unlike previous EU treaties, the Stability Treaty does not require a unanimous decision to come into effect, but it does need to be ratified by 12 of 17 Eurozone countries by January 2013.
Ireland is the only country to have made the decision by referendum, with 60.3pc voting Yes. In all others, it rests on a parliamentary decision requiring a majority vote, which may require more than 50pc of the vote or two-thirds of the vote, depending on the country in question.
Because of its unique ratification process, Ireland was deemed ‘one to watch’, as the scale could have slid either way. However, the treaty is not out of the woods yet as ratification in Belgium will require the approval of seven federal, regional and community assemblies, and in France the newly elected president François Hollande made renegotiation of the treaty a pillar of his campaign.
Though reopening the text has been ruled out as a possibility, many of the treaty’s detractors note this dissatisfaction with the supposedly final text to be a sign that it will be greatly revised before the 2013 deadline.
Ireland and Latvia are the most recent of five countries to have ratified the treaty, while most have not even started the process.
UPDATE: You can now see a revised version of the ratification map on the IIEA website. The infographic will be kept up to date as ratification of the treaty progresses.
