The Government plans to block a new move to remove the national veto in European Commission decisions covering justice and police co-operation on the grounds that it would dilute Ireland's national sovereignty.
Tánaiste Michael McDowell yesterday launched a blistering attack on European Union legislators, accusing them of creating a raft of useless legislation in the justice field that had no practical benefit for citizens.
At a meeting of justice and home affairs ministers here yesterday, Mr McDowell said the EU had a "predisposition to legislative action" even when no problems actually existed.
He said an independent ombudsman was needed to screen all new proposals to prevent laws being passed that were simply "solutions in search of problems".
He cited two examples of proposed EU legislation that were only "paper proposals" that did not offer benefits. One proposed to prevent people being charged with a crime in one country when they had already been acquitted of the same crime in another.
In practice, this problem had never arisen in the EU and was only an academic exercise, said Mr McDowell, who also criticised an EU law on drugs passed during the Irish presidency, which he doubted had any practical impact.
"My vision for Europe is that instead of constantly seeking to enlarge the competence of the Union that the justice and home affairs ministers concentrate on practical measures of co-operation between states to enhance security and combat terrorism."
Mr McDowell also said Ireland would oppose a major new initiative proposed by the EC, and supported by several EU member states, to remove the national veto over sensitive justice matters such as police and judicial co-operation.
He said if the proposal was adopted it would seriously affect the operation of Ireland's criminal law by giving the commission the exclusive right to propose new legislation in the area.
It would also undermine the proposed EU constitution, which Ireland had signed up for and which incorporated elements of the new proposal.
"We do not favour anything that amounts to cherry-picking some elements of the EU constitutional treaty," said Mr McDowell.
He said Germany, Britain, Poland and the Netherlands were also supporting Ireland in opposing the proposal.
The commission says removing the national veto over justice matters would make decision-making more efficient. Under current EU rules, decision-making on sensitive issues such as judicial and police co-operation on criminal matters must be made unanimously by all 25 member states.
Only in a few justice areas, such as illegal immigration, can EU decisions be agreed by a qualified majority of states, which is the process that governs most EU policy areas, from internal market to environmental legislation. It argues that many proposed justice laws are delayed during debate at EU level, which is undermining the fight against terrorism and endangering people's lives.
Mr McDowell said he couldn't accept this proposition.
"For example, the tube bombings in London had virtually no international dimension and I haven't seen yet any convincing argument about the atrocity at the railway station in Madrid would have been affected one way or another by framework decisions being adopted."
EU justice ministers will discuss the proposal further today.