Sir, - I voted No to the Maastricht Treaty and the Amsterdam Treaty, and I intend to vote No to the Nice Treaty. This is not because I am opposed to enlargement of the EU, or any further federalisation, but because the EU is run on fundamentally undemocratic lines.
Each successive treaty dripfeeds further powers to the elected European Parliament, but gives it no more than a veto on legislation. The Commission, where almost all European legislation starts life, is a body of political appointees. It has been presented to us as a civil service, but a remarkable number of member-state governments have seen fit to appoint politicians rather than civil servants to it.
Not many people can be impressed by the undignified scramble that occurs whenever a new commissioner is due to be appointed in Ireland, and the same appears to be the case when the President of the Commission, or even the entire Commission as a panel. If there were to be any re-negotiation of the Nice Treaty, perhaps this could be a central part of it. I, for one, would then vote Yes. - Yours, etc.,
Mark Tottenham, Great Denmark Street, Dublin 1.