The Treaty of Nice, if ratified, would serve only to further erode Irish neutrality, the president of Sinn Fein, Mr Gerry Adams, claimed yesterday.
Speaking in Dublin at the launch of his party's campaign in opposition to the Treaty, Mr Adams said he believed the treaty would pave the way for the creation of a new superpower in Europe, with its own army dominated by the largest countries.
Calling for a No vote in the June 7th referendum on the treaty, he said the Government parties claimed the Treaty of Nice was about enlargement and about letting other states share in the positive benefits of EU membership. "This is not the case. Changes in Nice will happen regardless of whether any new state joins," he said.
Mr Adams said his party recognised that Ireland's membership of the EU had produced some positive benefits. "However, we have also seen the demise of our agriculture industry, the devastation of fisheries and the continued erosion of political and economic power. More and more, control of decisions which affect people's lives are being ceded to the EU Commission and EU Council of Ministers with less and less influence retained by the Irish people themselves. This process will increase with the Treaty of Nice," he claimed.
The Mayor of Sligo, Mr Sean MacManus, who is the Sinn Fein spokesman on European affairs, said at the launch he was confident the party could secure a No vote if people were given access to full information on the treaty and its implications.