Madam, - If the account in The Irish Times(October 8th) is correct, Ireland may be about to seek the right to opt out from some of the key provisions of the EU reform treaty. As your editorial emphasises, this would constitute a major mistake which will have a lasting impact on Ireland's standing in the EU. I cannot see how the fact of having a common border and legal system to the United Kingdom can be argued to justify the position we are apparently about to take.
At a time when the threat posed by terrorism and organised crime is so obviously international and crying out for collective, cross-border responses, some in Ireland seem more preoccupied by imagined threats to our legal system. There is already agreement on an "emergency brake" mechanism in the draft treaty to refer proposals which could undermine the specific characteristics of a country's legal system to the European Council for consideration by prime ministers and presidents.
One of the most destructive innovations in the constitutional development of the EU has been the so-called "opt out" introduced initially to accommodate the United Kingdom on various issues. It has undoubtedly led to the creation of a core group of member states from which the United Kingdom has remained semi-detached. For Ireland, apparently motivated by excessive caution, to follow the British example in this particular case is difficult to understand having regard, inter alia, to the overwhelming political case to be in the core group of countries in the EU.
In the future, when Ireland is fighting for its real national interests in the EU, this decision to seek a right to opt out will surely undermine our position. We have no need of special "opt-ins" or 'opt-outs" which make us look timorous and unco-operative in the eyes of our European partners.
Irish national interests are well served by what is proposed in the new treaty and no more "protection" is necessary. - Yours, etc.,
PETER D SUTHERLAND, London