DALTON TANONAKA, CNN ANCHOR: The British are going to the polls today to elect a new parliament. But their neighbors across the Irish Sea are voting on an issue that will impact all of Europe. The Nice Treaty spell outs how the European Union will look once it expands to include up to 12 central and eastern countries. CNN's Jim Boulden explains.</s>JIM BOULDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One million Irish voters will today set stage for all of Europe. Dublin is allowing its voters to decide if the country should accept the NICE treaty. Ireland is the only European country to hold such a referendum. NICE was adopted in December. While it's complicated structure has been slammed in many quarters, it will set out how the European Union will bring in other countries like Poland and Hungary. The reality is, the once poor, but pro-Europe Ireland is now much richer, and much less euro-friendly.</s>DANIEL KEOHANE, CENTRE FOR EUROPEAN REFORM: Despite the fact that Ireland will still have two and a half times its representation relative to its population, people are still worried an enlarged Europe will</s>BOULDEN: The "no" campaign claims the treaty is being forced on Ireland, when few people understand it. A recent poll shows only 10 percent of Irish say they understand the issues involved. Also, there are worries here that further European integration will affect Ireland's military neutrality. The implications for Europe are great. All 15 current EU members have to adopt NICE for it to come into force.</s>KEOHANE: If you forced be to put money on one side or another, I would think that the NICE will win, but they'll scrape through; it will be very close.</s>BOULDEN: Europe has had these types of scares before. French and Danish voters nearly sank the Mostrek (ph) treaty in the early '90s. That treaty established monetary union. There once was a time when the Irish could always be counted on to back Europe, no questions asked. Not anymore. Jim Boulden, CNN Financial News, London.
Irish Voting on Issue That Will Impact All of Europe