Madam, - I was pleased to read Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern writing that the Government is completely committed to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and has "definitively resolved" not to associate itself with the British protocol to opt out ( World View, October 13th).
This is an important decision and we look forward to the Government following through on this resolve during this week's European Council meeting which aims to seek agreement on the new reform treaty.
The Charter of Fundamental Rights, even if legally binding only at an EU level, and the reform treaty's social clause, which would make social concerns relevant to all areas of EU policy-making, have the potential to redress some of the current imbalance between economic and social priorities in the European Union, where more than 70 million people are at risk of poverty. - Yours, etc,
PAUL GINNELL, Acting Co-ordinator, European Anti-Poverty Network Ireland, 5 Gardiner Row, Dublin 1.