The ruthlessness and unaccountability of the EU Council of Ministers are the reasons why the Nice Treaty is unacceptable, according to Green MEP Ms Nuala Ahern, speaking in Kilkenny last night.
"The kind of late-night dealing in smoke-filled rooms that finalised the Treaty of Nice was the unacceptable face of the EU and is not worthy of a Union of 350 million people," she said.
Speaking at the Forum on Europe meeting in Kilkenny Castle, Ms Ahern called for public access to records of EU institutions, particularly the Council of Ministers.
"The basic problem with the council is that it is a legislative and executive body in one. As a legislature, the council should sit in public as the European Parliament does and have its debates and decisions recorded."
The Labour Party leader, Mr Ruairí Quinn, acknowledged that not everything was right in Europe but said he believed EU enlargement would provide opportunities. He highlighted the area of workers' rights and improvements made by EU directives.
"No major labour legislation would have been implemented in this country independent of the EU.
"The IBEC [Irish Business and Employers Confederation\] lobby would have screamed, probably effectively, about the loss of competitiveness. It cannot do this about measures that impact equally on all countries across the EU."