An excerpt from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States .
By The Associated Press
On the Irish referendum:
In Europe, a fresh wave of political support is growing rapidly for efforts to deepen regional integration.
Ireland held its second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty (recently), which would set basic rules for the European Union. The treaty was ratified with support from nearly 70 percent of Irish voters.
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In the country's first referendum in June last year, more than half of voters said "no" to the treaty, raising doubts about the fate of the painstakingly negotiated blueprint for the bloc's future.
Ireland's ratification has revived the treaty, which was in danger of falling apart. ...
The new pact, which must be accepted by all 27 member states to come into force, would create the EU's first full-time president and foreign policy chief as the union's "public faces."
It would also introduce a majority vote for a wide range of policy decisions by reforming the EU's decision-making process based on the conventional rule of unanimity.
These changes are designed to heighten the EU's influence in this increasingly multipolar world by strengthening its institutions and quickening its decision-making process. ...
-- Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo
