A GROUP of Austrian citizens yesterday delivered a petition to the Irish Embassy in Vienna urging Ireland to reject the Lisbon Treaty in the June 12th referendum.
In a statement, the group, Rettet Osterreich (Save Austria), described itself as the largest of some 80 groups that have been campaigning for Austria to hold a referendum on the treaty.
“The large majority of people in all the other EU countries also wanted to have a vote on this decisive treaty, but all the EU governments refused that.
“We want a Europe in which the sovereignty of nations is accepted; in which Austria’s neutrality remain intact; a Europe which serves peace and not the military; and in which people and not big business are in charge.
“We, therefore, hope that the Irish people vote No to the Lisbon Treaty, not only on their own behalf but on behalf of us Austrians as well. By doing that, they have the opportunity to open the way to a new and better treaty for all Europeans.”
Declan Ganley, chair of anti-treaty group Libertas, joined the Austrians as they handed in the petition.
He said he was encouraged by the amount of support for the No campaign from elsewhere in Europe. “Today’s event, and others like it that will be happening across the EU in the coming weeks, give the lie to the idea that somehow the Irish people would be alone in Europe if they said No to this treaty.”
Mr Ganley said he planned to travel throughout Europe in the coming weeks to “bring the message that Ireland can, and will, stand up for the 400 million people of Europe who have been denied a voice on this crucial issue”.
If Ireland votes No, he added, “we will be the toast of a great many Europeans”.
Meanwhile, the Peace and Neutrality Alliance (Pana) has called on the Labour Party to distance itself from comments made by German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier indicating he favoured the establishment of a European army.
Pana, which is campaigning against the Lisbon Treaty, noted that the Labour Party was a member of the same political grouping as Steinmeier’s SDP, and called on it to “reject and condemn” his remarks.