EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT President Pat Cox yesterday voiced his opposition to any unilateral action against Iraq, as he was named European of the Year 2002.

IF anything was learned from the Irish Government’s inept handling of its first Nice Treaty referendum, it was the crucial importance of involving people in debate about issues that profoundly change their lives.

PLANS to ease housing and traffic congestion in Dublin and revitalise regional centres will be published by the Government today.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is expected to receive a warm welcome in Brussels tonight when he attends a meeting of the European Council of Ministers.

Junior Minister Pat 'the Cope' Gallagher has said he is unconvinced about the benefits of weekend voting, despite the relatively high turnout in last Saturday's Nice Treaty referendum.

Gerry Adams has said that the issues surrounding the Nice Treaty will come back to haunt Europe.

The Taoiseach has said that he is grateful to his party members and those who campaigned for a 'Yes' vote in the Nice Treaty referendum.

Members of the 'No' campaign have conceded defeat following the release of unofficial figures in the Nice Treaty referendum.

A breakdown of all the figures from this weekend's Nice Treaty referendum.

All but four of the constituencies have now completed counting votes in the Nice Treaty referendum.

22.79% of the vote on the Nice Treaty referendum has been counted.

Almost one fifth of all votes have been counted in the Nice Treaty referendum.

A total of 16.43% of the national vote has now been counted in the Nice Treaty referendum.

Longford/Roscommon and Galway East constituencies are the latest to declare results in the Nice Treaty referendum.

Both Donegal constituencies have voted 'Yes' in the Nice Treaty referendum, albeit by a narrow margin.

The result of the Nice Treaty referendum is expected to emerge by around 6pm.

Counting of ballot papers in 35 constituencies around the country began at 8am this morning with the final result in the Nice Treaty referendum expected later this afternoon.

With 9.24% of the poll counted in the Nice Treaty referendum, 66.57% have voted 'Yes' to Nice, with 33.43% voting 'No'.

Voting in the Nice Treaty referendum has reportedly picked up around the country.

The returning officers at polling stations say people have been slow to vote in the Nice Treaty referendum.

Polling stations opened at 9am today for voting in the second Nice Treaty referendum. Polls close at 9pm.

Polling stations are due to open at 9am today for voting in the second Nice Treaty referendum.

Today is the last official day of campaigning ahead of the re-run of the Nice Treaty referendum this Saturday. From midnight tonight, a media moratorium will be imposed to give voters the opportunity to consider their choices before casting their votes.

Voting has begun in the Nice Treaty referendum on five islands off the Donegal coast.

The Irish Farmers Association has reiterated its support for a 'Yes' vote in this Saturday's re-run of the Nice Treaty referendum.

An opinion poll published this morning has predicted a probable 'Yes' vote in the re-run of the Nice Treaty referendum this Saturday.

The Socialist Workers Party has rejected claims that a ‘Yes’ vote in the upcoming re-run of the Nice Treaty referendum is in the interests of the people of the applicant countries.

Fianna Fail is to hold press conferences today to try and swing the undecided vote in the re-run of the Nice Treaty referendum.

Bertie Ahern's party will be battling to persuade voters to vote 'yes' this week with the Nice Treaty referendum only days away.

John Hume is predicting there will be a 'yes' vote in the Nice Treaty referendum next week.

The Government chief whip has said the same old arguments about neutrality have proved groundless for the past thirty years and that they're groundless now.

Transport Minister Seamus Brennan has claimed that Europe's future is in Irish hands following the EC’s decision to declare 10 countries as ready to join the EU.

THE Catholic Bishops backed the Nice Treaty yesterday, stating there was a stronger case for voting in favour than against.

Fine Gael TD Michael Ring has announced his intention not to canvass in the Nice Treaty referendum campaign in protest at Fianna Fail’s apparent complacency on the issue.

The head of Hungary’s campaign for EU membership has denied that enlargement of the union would lead to an influx of foreign workers into Ireland.

FOREIGN Affairs Minister Brian Cowen last night insisted there was "no truth" in reports of a secret deal between himself and Bertie Ahern over the leadership of the Fianna Fáil party.

IRELAND may be on the edge of Europe, but it’s central to EU decisions and it has a tradition of peacekeeping that makes it a role model for the ten EU applicant countries which met in Warsaw recently.

A new lobby group is claiming that women have benefited in particular from this country’s membership of the EU and should vote "Yes" in the forthcoming Nice Treaty referendum.

The Cabinet will hold a special meeting this morning to consider its strategy for the Nice Treaty referendum.

THE Green Party has threatened legal action against RTÉ claiming their coverage of the Nice Treaty referendum is biased towards the Yes side.

Labour leader Ruairi Quinn has said major changes have been made since the last Nice Treaty referendum and these have addressed many of the public concerns.

President of the European Parliament Pat Cox today urged the public to vote positively in the forthcoming Nice Treaty referendum.

The President of the European Parliament is campaigning in the south west of the country today for a yes vote in the Nice Treaty referendum.