A Chara, - Proinsias De Rossa's letter of January 22nd is very instructive in that he does not put forward even one reason why the people of Ireland should support the Lisbon Treaty. Instead he trots out nonsense which many in his own party wouldn't accept, never mind the general public.
For the record I firmly believe that Ireland's place is in Europe. Co-operation with our European partners is valuable and must continue.
The challenge is to build a modern, democratic Europe for a modern, democratic Ireland. The Lisbon Treaty, like many of the treaties that went before it, does not deliver reform, efficiency or democracy.
Put simply, it is a bad deal for Ireland. It gives the EU too much power and reduces our ability to stop decisions that are not in our interests. It cuts our voting strength on the European Council by more than half and ends our automatic right to a commissioner.
It erodes neutrality by drawing this State into a common defence group and obliging us to increase military spending. It allows the EU to act in the international arena in the same way as a state and to form a diplomatic corps. It seriously undermines workers' rights and public services.
I believe that how we vote on this treaty is one of the most important decisions that the voters of this State will be asked to make.
And it is important that public representatives play their part by setting out the facts, not by juvenile mud-slinging or negative campaigning. -
Is mise,
MARY LOU McDONALD MEP (Sinn Féin),
Parnell Square,
Dublin 1.
Madam, - Declan Ganley, chairman of the new Libertas group set up to campaign against the Lisbon Reform Treaty, complains (January 19th) that the treaty "would give us a Europe where key decision-making, including a powerful president of Europe, would have no democratic accountability to us the citizens. The principles of democracy, accountability and transparency are what matter most and they are in large measure sorely lacking in the EU".
Mr Ganley's statement is a reckless generalisation considering that Irish citizens have voted democratically in referendums in every decade since 1972 to approve every stage of the development of the EU to what it is today. The Lisbon Reform Treaty is not a sinister bolt out of the blue but rather the latest in a line of treaties that have moulded the European Union since its foundation in 1957.
It is essentially, as the name suggests, an amending or reforming treaty which seeks to make the existing EU institutions in an enlarged EU more effective, more transparent and more accountable to the member-states.
Under this treaty, all member states, large and small, have exactly the same rights in a reduced EU Commission. All the legislative deliberations of the European Council of Ministers will take place in public for the first time. The "powerful President of Europe" referred to by Mr Ganley has no decision-making powers at all. He or she is simply chairperson of the European Council of Heads of State. This, incidentally, is the post our Taoiseach is supposed to be interested in. It is for a two-and-a-halfyear period, renewable for a second term. The European Parliament, which is the EU parliamentary assembly elected by the citizens of the member-states, has its legislative voting rights increased enormously as well as having a new key role in approving the EU Budget. All the EU institutions are amended in ways which enhance their democratic accountability to us the citizens. Thus, Mr Ganley's assertions are totally unfounded.
Moreover, the treaty contains an entirely new Citizens' Initiative: one million EU citizens representing 15 States or more can initiate policies.
Finally, the national parliament of each member-state will have an enhanced role in dealing with all EU legislative proposals. The European Commission must inform national parliaments immediately of any of its new legislative proposals. National parliaments can then give their considered opinions and if they believe the Commission is straying outside its competence they have the power to seek amendments or outright rejection. As a last resort, if still dissatisfied, they can appeal to the European Court of Justice.
In addition to these institutional amendments, the treaty
includes a restatement of the values and principles of the original
Treaty of Rome and its goals of peace, prosperity and stability for
the continent of Europe. It includes the Charter of Fundamental
Rights which guarantees legally binding rights to all the citizens
of the European Union and it gives the EU new goals to lead the
world in tackling pressing environmental issues such as climate
change and energy sustainability as well as the eradication of
global poverty. - Yours, etc,
JOE COSTELLO TD,
Labour Spokesperson on European Affairs,
Dáil Éireann,
Dublin 2.