EU:Countries which opt out of justice and home affairs issues in the proposed EU reform treaty should expect to have less influence on the policy being adopted, the European Commission's ambassador to Washington, John Bruton, said yesterday.
While refraining from making explicit references to the Government's decision to exercise the opt-out, Mr Bruton told the Forum on Europe at Dublin Castle that countries deciding on an opt-out should ask themselves if being able to do so is more important than having influence on the policy.
The former taoiseach, who sat on the committee of the convention that drafted the original treaty, said he believed the proposal to introduce majority voting in the area of justice was very important if Europe was to "act cohesively" against terrorism.
He referred to terrorism as "one of the major international threats".
Speaking to reporters following the debate, Mr Bruton said there was "something inherently problematic" about opt-outs, adding that they created "variable geometry" within the EU.
"The more you introduce opt-outs into the EU, the more you introduce that sort of problem. We should work hard to avoid them, even if at times it means reducing our ambitions," he added.
During the forum debate, Mr Bruton rebuffed calls from Sinn Féin for a Europe-wide referendum on the reform treaty, saying he believed in parliamentary democracy, not plebiscites.
"Complicated matters should not be decided by referenda," Mr Bruton said.
"Having served as a politician in an elected House for 35 years, I believe very strongly in the Dáil or the Senate - or whatever the relevant body is - taking the decision for the people and the people deciding whether they want to throw them out, on the basis of that decision, at the next election."