EU Treaty scores '18 goals', Irish ref's decision pending[fr][de] 

On 11 June, Finland, Estonia and Greece ratified the Lisbon Treaty by overwhelming majorities. The UK House of Lords also took a decisive step, voting against a Conservative proposal to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. 

"Each endorsement scores a goal towards winning the European Cup Final - enforcement of the Treaty on 1 January," the Slovenian EU Presidency said in a statement, clearly inspired by the ongoing Euro 2008 tournament. To date, 18 countries out of 27 have ratified the Lisbon Treaty. 

The treaty, which paves the way for greater European integration and provides for a EU President, will effectively be killed off if a majority in Ireland votes 'no'. EU leaders have repeatedly said there is no 'Plan B' in case of a 'no' vote in Ireland, the only country to submit the complicated treaty text to a popular vote. However just days ago French President Nicolas Sarkozy said "whatever happens, there will be a Franco-German reaction". 

Polling stations in Ireland opened at 7am and will stay open until 10pm to encourage as many people as possible to vote. The electorate of Ireland stands at 3,051,278 as of February 15th, 2008. This also means that the future of Europe is being determined by one per cent of its voters. 

The Irish press reports that those casting their ballots may be asked to show a passport, driving licence, employee identity card or student card. They will be given a white ballot paper and those who approve of the Treaty should mark 'X' in the square beside "TÁ/YES" while those against it should mark X in the square beside "NÍL/NO". 

The votes will be counted on Friday at centres in 43 constituencies. At the completion of each count, each local officer will inform the referendum returning officer, who will be based at St Patrick's Hall, Dublin Castle, of the result from their constituencies. 

The referendum returning officer will then declare the overall result, which should be known by late afternoon. 

A broadcasting moratorium on the Lisbon Treaty is in place, and all political activity will be prohibited close to the polling stations for the duration of the poll. 

Full coverage of the referendum results will be available on The Irish Times website on Friday, with reports and analysis along with audio commentary from the counting centre at Dublin Castle. Results from the counting centres will be updated live throughout the day.