In 2001, Irish voters rejected the Nice Treaty, which threw the EU into a protracted period of crisis and introspection, which ended only with agreement on the so-called Constitutional Treaty in 2005. Almost immediately, however, French and Dutch voters rejected that Treaty, bringing the negotiations back to square one.
2001年，爱尔兰选民们拒绝了尼斯条约，把欧盟推向了漫长的危机和内省。这一阶段直到2005年对所谓的宪法条约达成协议才告结束。但是，法国和荷兰的选民们几乎马上拒绝了这一条约，把谈判重新带回了起点。现在，经历了漫长而又困难的反省和讨价还价阶段，这些努力可能再一次陷于困境。