Madam, - Sinn Féin's Angus Ó Snodaigh TD adds insult to ignorance with his lame defence (April 25th) of Mary Lou McDonald's misinformed attack on the European Convention. Rather than admit she was wrong he complains that Sinn Féin was deliberately excluded from the Convention - though its "desire" was to be there. Does he take us all for fools?
Not being a member of the Convention didn't prevent hundreds of organisations from making thousands of submissions both oral and written, all of which had an influence on the outcome, positively and negatively. The question remains: why did Sinn Féin deliberately exclude itself from this process given its view that nothing is right about the EU as it stands? Probably because the party has nothing worthwhile to propose other than a clapped-out olde worlde nationalism which has as much relevance to Ireland and Europe today as the Flat Earth Society.
The SF "critique" of the draft Constitution to which Mr Ó Snodaigh refers, and which is on the party's website, was written, it would appear, without even bothering to read the actual text. For example, it calls for the inclusion of Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) as a shared competence in the EU - that's in it. It calls for unanimity in CFSP - that's there. It calls for the Charter of Fundamental Rights to be constitutionalised - that's there also.
Then there's nonsense such as ensuring that "as many complementary competences as possible take precedence over exclusive competences, particularly in the non-economic sphere". In reality, only one of the four exclusive competences can at a stretch be regarded as "non-economic" - the "conservation of marine biological resources". Is Sinn Féin really saying that the EU should only "complement" Ireland's (puny) efforts to preserve fish stocks in the South Pacific? This "critique" calls for a "statement" guaranteeing citizens rights of access to decent education, health and housing, while simultaneously calling for the deletion of Article 96, which guarantees the right of access to public services, and ignoring Article 122, which for the first time enables the EU to adopt laws guaranteeing the provision, commissioning and funding of such services, a long-standing demand of the European left and trade union movement.
The real objective of withdrawal from the EU is of course couched in the usual Sinn Féin-speak - that is to re-establish "full Irish independence" economically, politically and in the field of foreign policy. This apparently is its recipe for an alternative Europe of "co-operating states".
I am interested in having a serious debate with Sinn Féin about its idea for an "alternative Europe" and I think the Irish public is entitled to hear how it might work. What will replace the common European standards in environmental and labour law? Who would pick up the tab for Structural Funding, CAP, European Social Fund grants for workers and students, the Research Framework Programmes, social programmes such as Daphne, Equal, Leader, Urban, and Interreg, etc? Would we seek to disestablish the euro or withdraw from it? If not, how can we be really "independent"? If we disestablish it or withdraw from it how can it be extended to Northern Ireland, as Sinn Féin proposed in its European election manifesto?
Do we re-establish the link with sterling? What happens when the UK joins the euro? Do we switch to the US dollar? Can Sinn Féin tell us which of the common foreign policy positions that have been unanimously agreed it wants us to withdraw from: the position on Palestine? On the Balkans? On UN Reform? If none of these, why not? Surely agreeing to and implementing such common policies "infringes" Irish independence? - Yours, etc,
PROINSIAS DE ROSSA MEP, Labour European Office, Liberty Hall, Dublin 2.