I am delighted about today’s results. I strongly believe it is the right result for Ireland and the right result for Europe. And I hope, as the President has just said, that we can now move forward.

Twenty years after the fall of the Iron Curtain, this will give us a new Treaty that is more efficient and more open, that will allow us to deliver more effectively, more transparently and more flexibly on the expectations of people across our continent.

So what brought about the change of heart in Ireland?
I hope one reason is the fact that people engaged much more, that so many people got involved and debated the issues made a difference.

At a European level, we listened, and we responded: we listened to Irish voters concerns after the first vote, and the European Council responded to those by agreeing on “guarantees” –making clear commitments on the issues which mattered most to the Irish. I think these made a real difference and helped to reassure people.

The Commission played its role by producing clear, factual, understandable information,including a Citizens' Summary of the Treaty in all EU languages. And I am very pleased to hear reports that people said they felt they understood the issues much better this time around. I believe this shows the clear need for all of us to communicate better about the European Union on a constant basis and not just at referendum or election times.

We will continue this important work, in Ireland and across the Union. Like last time, we will do a Eurobarometer survey of how people voted and why.That will help us understand the hopes and concerns of all voters, the yesses and the nos.

And in the months and years to come, we should not forget these hopes and concerns.
We will continue to reach out, to listen, to engage and to take action to meet the
legitimate expectations of European citizens.