EU: Treaty change was required in the European Union in order to improve the current system of governance, which was not well-adapted to the needs of 25 member states, Institute of European Affairs director general Alan Dukes said last night.
Mr Dukes, a former minister for finance, was launching a series of eight pamphlets on different aspects of the EU constitutional treaty. The pamphlets explain the implications of the treaty in the following areas: freedom, security and justice; fundamental rights; institutional reform; foreign, security and defence policy; the economic and social dimension; national parliaments; the Irish Constitution; the citizen and Europe.
"The opinions that seem to have emerged during the course of the French debate, and in the final decision, show that there are substantial parts of the enterprise that were not properly communicated and I am sure the French public are not on their own in that," said Mr Dukes. He said he could not think of any other method of ascertaining what way "political systems and people" were thinking other than continuing the process of ratification.
"Whatever is being done has to be accessible to citizens," he said.