sentence1: A referendum in Ireland proposing the country's ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon has been rejected by the electorate despite near universal support from the country's political establishment. Although in most states the issue has been (or will be) decided through parliamentary vote, Ireland was obliged to hold a referendum by its constitution. Ireland is the first state to reject the treaty which came about as a reworking of the E.U. Constitution, rejected by referenda in France and the Netherlands in 2005.
sentence2: European nations have signed the Treaty of Lisbon.