The Government's campaign for the Nice Treaty has been discredited, says the Green Party, after a number of statements by EU leaders saying enlargement can go ahead if the Republic votes No.
Green Party MEP, Ms Patricia McKenna said comments by the President of the European Union, Mr Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, that a second No vote to Nice would not stop EU enlargement, went against the Government’s contention to the contrary.
Speaking in Copenhagen yesterday, Mr d’Estaing said an alternative solution could be found if the Republic voted against Nice, though he said a No vote would create "a judicially difficult situation".
"The solution would not be to ignore the vote, but to handle the situation. Probably it requires taking what is needed from the Nice Treaty necessary to carry through the enlargement," Mr d’Estaing said.
Ms McKenna said the statement supports the Green’s argument that the Nice Treaty is not a legal requirement for enlargement. We are not against enlargement, she said, but want the parts of the treaty that will create inequalities in Europe taken out.
"The Government is worried that their scare tactics will be discredited by statements from other European figures," she said.
The push for Nice is not about a legal requirement but a political necessity, as the bigger nations in the EU "want to change the rules before the others join", said Ms McKenna.
"An amendment in our constitution is not a necessity for enlargement, other countries have joined without one," she said.
The Government, however, is continuing its campaign that Nice is the only available door for enlargement.
The Tanáiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms Harney, warned today a second No vote would leave the Republic in "no-man’s land", and send a signal that the Irish were "withdrawing, disengaging and relegating ourselves".
Ms Harney’s comments at a Department of Foreign Affairs Trade Seminar were echoed by a Government spokesman.
"It is the Government’s view, and the view of the Governments that negotiated the Nice Treaty, that failure to ratify Nice means enlargement cannot proceed as planned," the spokesman said.
Referring to a statement from President of the EU Commission President, Mr Romano Prodi, on Monday that there was no plan B if the Irish vote No to Nice, "there is no alternative, the Nice Treaty was negotiated with that in mind," he said.