Sir, - A large number of your correspondents have complained that the Nice Treaty was not immediately thrown out when a majority of those voting in our recent referendum voted No. They say this is undemocratic and fails to respect the wishes of the Irish electorate. Objections have also focused on the likelihood that we will be asked to vote again on the same treaty - with some specific "add-ons" designed to address the specific concerns of No voters.
Our rights as a sovereign member-state within the European Union should be at the centre of this debate, but might I ask that we consider and respect the rights of others?
Democratically elected governments in 15 European states spent nearly two years negotiating a treaty which culminated at Nice in one of the most difficult, intense and drawn-out diplomatic battles in EU history. The resulting compromise was hard fought and hard won. Democratic governments in 27 European states, representing more than 400 million Europeans, have judged this treaty to be the best compromise that could be negotiated and essential for enlargement to occur fairly Is it unreasonable of them to ask us - respectfully and seriously - to review the situation before finally binning the hopes of tens of millions of Europeans to join the EU on terms that their own governments have agreed?
We know there was an exceptionally low turn-out for the referendum. We know that just 18 per cent of the electorate voted against the treaty (fewer, in absolute terms, than voted against the Amsterdam Treaty). We know the debate was less than brilliant. We know that most of the political parties failed to make a serious effort on the doorsteps. We know that the IFA, IBEC and ICTU took the electorate for granted and didn't bother to campaign strongly. We (now!) know the Government was divided on Nice.
In all these circumstances, is it unreasonable or undemocratic for us to pause, reflect and then decide on whether we really wish to tear up this treaty? This is a decision which we will take for ourselves, but which will have serious consequences for more than 400 million other Europeans. - Yours, etc.,
Dr Ben Tonra, Deputy Director, Dublin European Institute, UCD, Dublin 4.