EU reaction:European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has said EU member countries who have yet to ratify the Lisbon Treaty should "continue to do so" despite the result of the Irish referendum.
Mr Barroso said the European Union will "respect the outcome of this referendum."
He said he had spoken with Taoiseach Brian Cowen and believed that Ireland remained remained "committed to a strong Europe".
Mr Barroso said the Government "needs to assess what this [No vote] means for the process". He added that the Commission would hear next week how Mr Cowen proposes to advance the process.
"The European Council meets next week – and that is the place where joint decisions should be taken on issues that concern us all. The “No” vote in Ireland has not solved the problems which the Lisbon Treaty is designed to solve."
"The ratification process is made up of 27 national processes, 18 Member States have already approved the Treaty, and the European Commission believes that the remaining ratifications should continue to take their course."
The European Commission President said the European Council "wanted to hear Brian Cowen’s analysis, as well as his ideas on how to address the concerns expressed by those who chose to vote No."
"At the same time, the EU institutions and the Member States should continue the work of delivering for the citizens of Europe on issues like growth and jobs, social cohesion, energy security, climate change and fighting inflation. Working together in the EU remains the best way to deal with the challenges affecting Europeans today," he added.
Luxembourg Premier and Finance Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said the defeat of the Lisbon Treaty represents a new "European crisis."
"Ireland said 'no' to the Lisbon Treaty,'' Juncker told reporters in Luxembourg today. "This is not good for Europe."
Italy's foreign minister described the result as "a serious blow."
Mr Franco Frattini said the path of European integration could not be stopped, however, citing the ratification process that other member states could proceed with.
"It is a serious blow to European construction, which for now does not allow the adoption of essential decisions on security, the management of immigration, energy politics or the protection of the environment," said Frattini, a former EU justice and security commissioner.
He urged EU states to begin working together again without taking hasty unilateral decisions.
"The Slovenian presidency of the EU deeply regrets this outcome. Nevertheless, we respect the democratic will of the Irish voters," said Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, whose country currently holds the EU's rotating presidency.
“I will invite the Irish prime minister to explain the reasons for the
rejection of the treaty by the Irish people,” he said.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier described the result as “a
severe setback” but said Berlin would stick to its aim of implementing the
treaty.
“The ratification process must continue. I am still convinced that we need
this treaty
- a treaty that makes Europe more democratic, more capable of acting
and more transparent,” he said.
Earlier, France's Secretary of State for European Affairs Jean-Pierre Jouyet said Ireland's possible rejection of The Lisbon Treaty should not stop other member states ratifying it.
"The most important thing is that ratification should continue in other countries (if Ireland has voted "No") and I have good reasons to think that the process of ratification will continue," Mr Jouyet told LCI television.
"We would have to see with the Irish at the end of the ratification process how we could make it work and what legal arrangement we could come to."
His view was at odds with comments by French Prime Minister Francois Fillon, who said yesterday: "If the Irish people decide to reject the treaty of Lisbon, naturally, there will be no treaty of Lisbon."
The approval of all 27 EU member states is required to ratify the treaty, which was hammered out last year after a previous charter was rejected by French and Dutch voters.
EU leaders meeting in Brussels next week are expected to reaffirm their commitment to it and may ask Ireland to indicate how it intends to proceed.
That would put the onus on Mr Cowen either to seek changes, opt-outs or assurances and put them to a second referendum, or to find a way to allow the others to proceed with the key reforms without Ireland.
Fourteen countries have already ratified the treaty in their national parliaments.
Reuters