The Green Party must say No to Lisbon because of the contempt the political elite is showing for the people, writes former MEP Patricia McKenna.
The Lisbon Treaty, like previous EU treaties, includes many proposals which are worrying for Green Party members.
The most obvious ones are the further militarisation of the EU, the power grab by the bigger member states, the further centralisation of power without true democratic accountability or control by elected representatives either in the European Parliament or national parliaments, the threat to "Social Europe", the lack of a requirement for UN mandates for EU military actions and the creation of a de factostate.
But on this occasion perhaps the most glaring concern of all is not just the treaty alone but the contempt shown by the political elite of Europe towards the citizens of the member states, and the refusal to give them a say on the future direction of the EU.
The Green Party has always been a voice for the oppressed and voiceless peoples of the world, and in this case the oppressed and voiceless are the citizens of all the member states whom opinion polls clearly show want the right to vote on this treaty.
Citizens in every member state want a referendum on this but are being denied the right to vote because their political leaders do not believe they will get the answer they want.
To quote French president Nicolas Sarkozy: "France was just ahead of all the other countries in voting No.
"It would happen in all member states if they have a referendum. There is a cleavage between people and governments...A referendum now would bring Europe into danger. There will be no treaty if we had a referendum in France, which would again be followed by a referendum in the UK."
So basically what we have is fundamental change without the consent of the citizens.
We now have a duty to stand firm on green principles and be a voice for all those denied a vote, including the French and Dutch whose democratic vote has been ignored.
Not only are political leaders openly admitting that they cannot trust their citizens to vote the way they are told but they are also openly admitting that they have taken the rejected EU constitution and renamed and repackaged it in an unreadable format.
To quote the father of the constitution, Giscard D'Estaing: "Public opinion will be led to adopt, without knowing it, the proposals that we dare not present to them directly... All the earlier proposals will be in a new text, but will be hidden and disguised in some way...What was [already] difficult to understand will become utterly incomprehensible, but the substance has been retained."
In yesterday's Irish Times, Deirdre De Burca claimed: "A decision by members not to support the treaty will certainly raise questions about our relationship with our Government partners."
However, there is no commitment in the programme for government to support this treaty.
In fact it is not even mentioned despite the fact that everyone negotiating the programme for government knew that this referendum was pending. Therefore, we Greens are under no obligation to support the Fianna Fáil/PD line on this issue, and are free to decide our own position without it affecting our participation in government.
Instead, we should follow our own conscience and carefully consider the contents of this treaty.
It is also not unprecedented for members of cabinet to take an opposing view to the government in referenda. In the divorce referendum in 1986 the then minister for education Paddy Cooney publicly called for a No vote, and in 1992 PD ministers spoke against the proposed amendment on the "substantive issue" on abortion.
Deirdre also stated "that the fundamental debate about being 'for or against' the EU is over".
It's a pity that she is using this old Government line as it gives the impression that up to now she was in fact against the EU.
As a member of the European Parliament my understanding was that the Greens were always in favour of Europe, but that we wanted meaningful reform that benefited democracy and the citizens.
The Green Party has never had a debate about for or against the EU because we have always been in favour of the EU, but a more democratic and demilitarised EU.
In the context of peace, disarmament and global justice, this treaty must be unacceptable to Greens!
It obliges Ireland to build up its military capacities while consolidating the European Defence Agency, whose purpose is to promote the arms industries.
It does not ban weapons of mass destruction, nor does it demand a UN mandate for military operations. It includes a mutual defence clause, something that Greens and peace activists have always opposed.
This increased EU military role is bound to put increased military costs upon Ireland and the Irish taxpayer. Is this where we want our money going? If the Irish Government was sincere about protecting Ireland's traditional policy of neutrality it would have followed the Danish example and sought an opt-out from these provisions.
While the EU Commission maintains its monopoly on proposing new laws, Ireland will lose its permanent EU commissioner.
Coupled with this are the new rules on voting in the council where voting strength will be based on population size and larger countries get more power.
Even Deirdre admits that numerous issues that concern us are still there, and that this treaty will advance them even further. But there is no opportunity to reverse them should we say Yes to this treaty.
However, a No in the referendum gives Ireland the best chance to demand changes.
The Green Party must take the lead in rejecting this treaty.
Doing so would ensure the possibility of getting a better deal and a better EU - one that is truly democratic where our political leaders are held to account.
The citizens of Europe deserve no less.