THE MINISTER for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin yesterday claimed that assertions by Libertas founder Declan Ganley that he is in favour of the European Union have not been borne out by any of his public pronouncements.
Mr Martin contended that Mr Ganley always says that he is a committed European but has done everything he possibly can to undermine it in terms of his statements.
He challenged Mr Ganley’s views that the European Union was run by faceless bureaucrats.
“I mean it is classic stuff. It’s very good in terms of the invisible ‘they’. Who are the ‘they’?
“We have no invisible ‘they’ out there.
“We have public servants in Ireland who are permanently working in Brussels on our behalf. We have a permanent representative, an Ambassador, Bobby McDonagh, who . . . takes instruction from the Irish Government,” he said.
Mr Martin said that government ministers representing all of the 27 states make the policy decisions and are involved in the policy initiatives.
President Nicolas Sarkozy, when he was president of the EU, led the political debate on the issues like the Georgian conflict and helped bring about a ceasefire, Mr Martin said on RTÉ’s Today with Pat Kenny.
