Irish voters' approval of the European Union's Lisbon reform treaty has been welcomed by political leaders across Europe.
The result of the referendum shows Europe's response to the global economic crisis has been positive, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said this afternoon.
Mr Barroso said support for the treaty "shows the value of European solidarity and I am really glad with the result we are receiving from Ireland".
He said it showed "the very positive response that Europe is bringing to the economic and financial crisis."
The president of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek said the result was "good news for Ireland and good news for Europe" but said it was "not the end of the story."
"Now we must start to work to overcome the difficulties. Our citizens are afraid of the energy issue, the unemployment rate, about immigration, demography and we can do that together, as it was before, also in the future, in solidarity.
"We should also think about those who were answering 'No' because it is our habit and it is our custom to think about all Europeans. I can assure (you) I will work very hard and do feel that it is our common Europe. Let us write our common European history."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the vote was "an important step on the path to the Lisbon Treaty and may I say: 'On German unification day, Germany is very happy about the result of the referendum'."
In a statement released by his office, French President Nicolas Sarkozy described the vote as "very satisfying for all Europeans. It allows us to break through a decisive stage towards the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty."
"France hopes that states that have not already done so complete the ratification procedure as quickly as possible so that the Lisbon Treaty can enter into effect before the end of the year."
The statement said it was "now up to the Swedish (EU) presidency to take all the necessary steps so that the Lisbon Treaty can come into force as quickly as possible."
Sweden, which currently holds the EU presidency has described the result as “an important victory for Ireland – and for Europe."
Sweden's foreign minister Carl Bildt said it was now only "a matter of a limited time before we can finally push the button for the better Eurpean cooperation that the Lisbon Treaty can give us. Not the least it will give us the possibility of a stronger European voice in the world."
Joseph Daul, the chairman of the European People's Party said the decision endorsed the Lisbon Treatyand said it secured "our common future with a more democratic and efficient European Union and ensures Ireland remains at the centre of the European decision-making processes."
Mr Daul said that following the vote, the EU would "speak with one voice and act with one voice when the Lisbon Treaty is ratified on the basis of a set of common values precious to all Europeans."
He said he was looking forward to the completion of the ratification process in the coming weeks and called on Poland and the Czech Republic "to ratify without delay."