The Green Party is considering a radical review of its policy on Europe by asking the membership to vote on whether it should support the new EU constitution, writes Arthur Beesley, Political Reporter
After campaigning for a No vote in the three referendums on the Amsterdam and Nice treaties, an endorsement by the membership of the constitution could see the Greens advocate a Yes vote in the next EU referendum.
With the details of the constitution being discussed yesterday at an EU summit in Brussels, Green TDs confirmed that the party had agreed to allow its 1,500 members to decide its stance in a referendum on the final document.
The party's foreign affairs spokesman, Mr John Gormley, said it had not yet been decided whether its leadership would formally campaign in the poll of members. However, Mr Gormley was one of four of the party's six TDs who told The Irish Times that they would oppose the constitution if there was no change to the defence and institutional provisions of the draft agreed by the Convention on the Future of Europe.
The others were Mr Eamon Ryan, Mr Paul Gogarty and Mr Dan Boyle. Each recognised, however, that there were positive aspects to the draft. Mr Ciarán Cuffe said he was undecided. The party leader, Mr Trevor Sargent, did not return calls.
The decision to seek a vote of members follows a demand for "clarity" on the party's EU policy by its election task force, which is devising a strategy and selecting candidates for the local and European elections next year.
With the Greens keen to portray themselves as a party of government in a future coalition, the decision also reflects unease within some sections of the party about the voter perception of its call for a No vote in the two referendums on the Nice Treaty. While the party believes it has a nuanced and principled pro-Europe policy, the stance in the Nice referendums aligned it with the anti-EU groups such as the No to Nice Campaign and the National Platform group.
Mr Ryan said there had been concerns within sections of the party about the perception of its stance. Mr Gormley and Mr Boyle said there had been annoyance about its portrayal by party rivals.
One Green TD said: "We were being lobbed in with a bunch of perceived loonies like the No to Nice Campaign and perceived hypocrites in terms of Sinn Féin's anti-militaristic stance."