# Case Study: EU Treaty Referendums 2005-2009 Back to [[Economic Freedom and Prosperity]] · [[Users/@brivael/Post Analyses/Post Analysis - brivael on Globalism as an Ideology That Won (2026-11-01)|Post analysis (brivael, Nov 1)]] · People: [[People/Valéry Giscard d'Estaing]], [[People/Altiero Spinelli]] **What the post says:** [@brivael](https://x.com/brivael/status/2116833977155702887) (Nov 1, 2026, 4:05 AM CST): France and the Netherlands voted No to the European Constitution in 2005; two years later the text "came back almost unchanged" as Lisbon, was ratified by parliament, and when Ireland voted No in 2008 it was "made to vote again the next year". The lesson: "you may vote, as long as you vote correctly." ## Timeline | Date | Event | Source | |---|---|---| | May 29, 2005 | France rejects the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe: about 55% No on about 69% turnout | ✔ [Wikipedia, Treaty of Lisbon background](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Lisbon) (via search summary) | | Jun 1, 2005 | Netherlands rejects it: about 61.5% No on about 63% turnout. The referendum was **consultative**; the government had promised to follow it if turnout passed 30% | ✔ [Meer Democratie](https://www.meerdemocratie.nl/dutch-consultative-referendum-law-overview) (via search summary) for the consultative status; ◻ for the figures | | Oct 26, 2007 | Giscard writes in *Le Monde* that Lisbon keeps the Constitution's institutional proposals "intact", reordered as amendments to the existing treaties | ✔ via search summary; see [[People/Valéry Giscard d'Estaing]] | | Dec 13, 2007 | Lisbon Treaty signed. Flag, anthem, motto and the word "constitution" are gone | ✔ [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Lisbon) (via search summary) | | Feb 4, 2008 | France: Congress at Versailles approves the constitutional amendment 560–181; the chambers approve the ratification law that week. No second referendum | ✔ [EUobserver](https://euobserver.com/59378/french-deputies-approve-amendment-permitting-adoption-of-eu-treaty/), [BBC](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7225913.stm) | | Jun 12, 2008 | Ireland, the only member state to hold a referendum on Lisbon (its constitution requires one): about 53.4% No on about 53% turnout | ✔ Wikipedia (via search summary) | | Dec 2008 | European Council grants Ireland legal guarantees (taxation, family/education/abortion, neutrality). The treaty text is not reopened | ✔ Wikipedia (via search summary) | | Oct 2, 2009 | Second Irish referendum: about 67% Yes on about 58–59% turnout | ✔ Wikipedia (via search summary) | | Dec 1, 2009 | Lisbon enters into force | ◻ | ## What it shows - The core of the post's claim is accurate: no second vote in France or the Netherlands, and the Constitution's authors said the substance was kept. Giscard's own headline in EUobserver: Lisbon was "made to avoid referendum". - It also shows what the post omits: the Dutch vote was advisory; Ireland's re-run followed guarantees and its own government's choice; the symbolic parts were dropped; and Art. 4(2) TEU (as amended) states the Union respects national identities and leaves national security to each member state ([EUR-Lex](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX%3A12008M004)). - Whether this amounts to "voting the right way" is an interpretation ❓. ## Gaps - Figures and dates are from search summaries of Wikipedia and news pages, not full-page reads. The French and Dutch ratification votes in the two chambers and the full guarantee text were not opened. Key: ✔ confirmed this session · ◻ standard knowledge, not opened this session · ⚠️ unconfirmed.